Begging for Mercy
by Mistress Megatron
Summary: After Cybertron...Trapped in a void beyond time and space, Megatron would do anything to return. What happens when he finds his way back, and it's through a psychopathic human? A series of deadly accidents lead to total chaos. Romance in later chapters.
1. Red in the Morning

Disclaimer: Transformers belong to Hasbro and not me.

I've had this idea for a long time now and finally decided to put it to paper. This story takes place after the Cybertron series. I don't think there's anything else I need to tell you so, enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter One: Red in the Morning**

It all started with a voice. A buzzing, whining murmur that tended to haunt Mercy. The voice plagued her at least once a day repeating only two words. _Help me._

It wasn't a frantic cry; in fact, it was more casual and a tad demanding. The voice was masculine, deep, clear, and powerful. That's what let Mercy know the voice wasn't her own. She had never heard it before and didn't recognize it from anywhere at all.

The voice didn't worry Mercy that much though. Whenever it came, it passed just as quickly and suddenly. And she had grown accustomed to it; it didn't bother her whenever the voice sounded. It had been in her head for the past few weeks, and sure, she had been surprised when she first heard it, but not now.

But only recently the voice had started speaking to her more frequently; still the message was the same…_help me._ And her dreams were becoming more and more strange. The last few nights her imagination had led her deep into the depths of space. Once atop a distance moon she witnessed the fight between two giant metal beings, until one managed to kill the other with an impalement through the midsection. These dreams didn't worry Mercy much…although she would wake mourning the loss of that one alien robot. They were only dreams after all, and dreams never came true. At least that's what Mercy believed.

Mercy was sixteen and a junior in high school. She had long auburn hair and hazel eyes. Her height was 5' 9" and she had long legs. She was slim, with average feminine curves. Being shy, Mercy wasn't popular in her school. Often times she was subject to extreme ridicule and nasty rumors. People were sometimes jealous of her though since she had a very high intelligence.

For the most part though, Mercy was able to dodge the criticism by keeping her head low and just blending in. At home, things weren't much better. Her parents were traveling salesmen and were hardly ever home. They were never there for her when she wanted them to be. Mercy usually didn't mind, she was used to taking care of herself and she enjoyed the privacy. She didn't have any close neighbors, but school was within walking distance.

She lived in a small town in northern New York, and hour or so drive from Lake Ontario. Her family's house was small, but it didn't matter since Mercy was usually the only one home and she didn't have any siblings. However, she was severely lonely. The voice in her head was the only thing that dared talk to her.

_**"Help me."**_

Mercy was alone at home. It was a Saturday evening and she had nothing to do. She lay on her bed channel surfing on the TV when she heard the voice for what seemed like the millionth time that day. The girl had to admit now that the voice was starting to drive her insane.

_**"Help me."**_

She considered saying something back. She hadn't said anything in response before, but that's because she didn't know what to say. Now she was prepared with a full phrase. Mentally, she dared the voice to speak again. There was silence for quite a few minutes, and then it shattered.

_**"Help me."**_

"_Will you shut up?"_ she asked mentally with every hint of anger in her telepathic voice. It didn't work though; the voice kept repeating its antagonizing familiar message. After it sounded again, Mercy decided to reason with it, it couldn't possibly hurt anything. Telepathically she tried to say to the voice, _"Help you with what?"_

_**"My resurrection, Mercy."**_

Mercy nearly jumped out of her skin. Just from those three words she had figured out two things: the owner of the voice was dead and wanted her help in his resurrection, and that this person knew her name. Startled by the response, Mercy didn't dare ask any more questions. And the voice was silent.

The girl turned off her TV and went to bed. There was a lot she needed to think about.

* * *

Mercy awoke the next morning with a strange ringing in her ears. She had had the same dream last night about the dueling robots. The girl sat up and massaged her temples eventually succeeding in getting the ringing out. She got out of the bed and went into her bathroom where she did her business, and then looked at herself in the mirror.

Her hair was a disaster in the making, her skin was its normal pale color, nothing looked out of the ordinary. She felt ugly, and she truly believed that she was. She didn't see any beauty in the face in the mirror that stared back at her.She didn't see what was so spectacular about her body either. The girl felt like a scrawny little nothing. That's what everyone at school called her.

Mercy picked up a brush and ran it through the tangles in her hair until it was smooth, straight, and decent looking. Once finished with her hair, she brushed her teeth. She had already dressed and once finished with her hygiene, she put her pajamas in the hamper. The girl then went out to the kitchen and realized that food was on a limited supply. Not that hungry, she decided to skip breakfast and went to the living room to watch TV.

Mercy sat on the couch with remote in hand and turned on the TV. Nothing interesting was on so she turned it to the Weather Channel and left the volume really low.

_**"Help me."**_

She had forgotten all about the voice, until now. After the "conversation" Mercy had with it last night she thought it would have at least said something else by now. _"Who are you?"_ she asked in her head. Resting during the night seemed to have given her more courage.

_**"It's not important that you know who I am right now."**_

"_So what is?"_

_**"Your decision. You need to willingly agree to bring me back among the living."**_

"_And if I don't?"_

_**"I will remain where I am trapped in a void beyond time and space forever. You Mercy, are my only way out."**_

"_And if I refuse?"_

_**"I'll haunt you forever, and forever is a very long time. I am an evil spirit Mercy; it's best you agree."**_

An evil spirit, trapped in a void beyond time and space, wanted her help in coming back to the living. She, Mercy LeCroix, the punching bag of the school, the freak of nature, and monster to the world, was cursed with having to help an evil spirit or suffer the consequences.

All her life, Mercy had always paid for someone else's mistake along with her own. She was sick of being the victim, sick of being a thorn in everyone's side. Mercy hadn't done anything wrong, other than being born. So what if she helped this evil spirit? Could she finally get the recognition that she deserved?

Maybe by helping this evil, he would help her in return. Together they could hurt the ones that hurt them. Maybe by helping him, she would finally be able to make everyone eat their words that had offended her. Even though the voice was an evil spirit, maybe she would finally get a friend.

No matter what decision Mercy made though, she knew there would still be consequences. She knew that there was a high chance nothing would work out the way she had hoped. But life is full of risks; Mercy mad her choice, _"I'll help you, just as long as you help me."_

_**"Agreed. A wise decision on your behalf Mercy."**_

Mercy didn't say anything and went over to the window instead. The sun was just coming up as she glanced out over the waking world. There weren't any clouds this morning, everything was calm and serene.

The sky was bleeding red.

* * *

I'm sure you're all familiar with that "Red at night sailor's delight, red in the morning sailor's take warning" saying. I just thought it'd play quite an elemental role here. I don't know how far I'm going to go with this. We'll see, I got a lot of ideas for it right now. Please review!!


	2. Fallen Angel

Forgot to say this in the last chapter, Mercy is my character, don't try to steal her. Since I've got nothing else to say, here's the next chapter.

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**Chapter Two: Fallen Angel**

Mercy watched the crows as they strutted about her yard pecking at the ground for worms or whatever it is they eat. For as long as she could remember, crows had always been her favorite animals. She loved their dark beauty and the way they showed no mercy to their prey. They would tear their victim apart, fight over it, and then devour it. And they hated hawks. Whenever there was a hawk around, they'd dive bomb it until it left.

_"You're such a worm Mercy, do you eat dirt too?" _

She put her hands over her ears and tried to silence the voice of her classmate as it came echoing through her head. Mercy hated all of her classmates, every single one of them, and she hated her teachers too. They made her feel like dirt, no, dirt was treated better than her. Mercy continued looking out the window until the crows flew away.

_"You do realize that nobody likes you right?" _

Mercy turned away from the window and looked over her kitchen. What had she done to deserve such treatment? Why didn't anyone understand her? Didn't anyone realize how much she hurt?

_"Are you crying Mercy? You're such a baby." _

She sank down to the floor and put her hands over her ears. She squeezed her eyes shut trying to hold back the tears. The voices of her classmates tended to plague her from time to time. This normal routine for Mercy was starting to take its toll on her mentally and physically.

_"You're so weak and pathetic Mercy, why don't you evaporate?" _

_"No, leave me alone,"_ Mercy pleaded in her thoughts.

**_"Something wrong Mercy?" _**

Mercy didn't know that the voice had heard her cry out. When he spoke up, it had surprised her. And as she processed the question, she realized that was the first time anyone had asked her if something was wrong. But his question had chased away the other voices in her head.

**_"Answer me Mercy." _**

_"It's nothing."_

**_"Don't lie to me." _**

She cringed answering, _"I hear voices." _

**_"Besides mine?"_**

_"Yes, their from my classmates, I was just remembering things they said."_

**_"Do they criticize you?" _**

_"Yes."_

**_"Do you wish to make them suffer?"_**

_"Yes."_

**_"I like the way you think Mercy."_**

Mercy wasn't used to getting compliments. And as she thought back, she couldn't ever recall getting a compliment from anyone, not even from her family. The voice kept repeating her name too. Mercy wasn't sure why he was, but when he did, he made her feel like an actual person.

**_"Are you alright now Mercy?"_**

_"I think so."_

**_"Good, I'll be coming to you soon." _**

_"What do you mean?"_

**_"You shall see soon enough. Will you do me a favor Mercy?"_**

_"I suppose."_

**_"Don't think and don't remember. If you must think about anyone, or you simply have to remember something, think of me."_**

_"I don't even know who you are."_

**_"You know that 'bot from your dreams Mercy, the one who dies?"_**

_"Yes."_

**_"That's me."_**

A robot. She was helping that purple robot from her dreams, the one with the horns. The one she always woke up feeling sorry for. He wasn't human either; he was an alien from outer space. An evil alien at that, one that would probably kill her as soon as he came back to life. Just what had she gotten herself into?

Mercy got up from the floor and went to her room where she took out a notebook. She had nothing to do, so she just began to write. She wrote words that tugged at her heart. She wrote words of how she felt and how she longed to feel. It took her about and hour to write the words, which formed a poem. It went like this:

_I am a fallen angel, I've finally found my hell_

_My wings are ripped and broken; my soul's been torn as well _

_And when I fell I landed not among the stars _

_But in a world where hate and eternal suffering are _

_These scars that I wear now, no one seems to see _

_They're not on my surface, but deep inside of me _

_They never seem to heal and they reopen everyday _

_No one seems to care as I bleed out all my pain _

_Maybe someday I can go home and finally be set free _

_Maybe someday they'll understand the quality of Mercy. _

Mercy cried as she reread the poem. She hated suffering like she was. She hated her sick and twisted mind. All she wanted though was someone to care about her. She had never been shown compassion, and for what reason? _"Being brought into existence,"_ Mercy thought bitterly.

**_"I told you not to think Mercy."_**

_"I'll think if I goddamn want to, now leave me alone."_

**_"I can't leave you alone Mercy; you'll end up destroying yourself."_**

_"Just shut up!"_

**_"I'm coming for you now Mercy."_**

Mercy didn't say anything back and ran outside. She plopped down in the grass and let the wind dance through her hair. The girl looked up at the gray sky knowing a storm was blowing in. She liked the lightning and the thunder. She liked the wind and the rain. She liked things that could kill people. Mercy stood just as a large drop of rain landed on her head. She felt something on her shoulder, and turned only to be face to face with the robot from her dreams.

He had a wicked smile on his white face as he removed his hand from her shoulder. His right hand was glowing and sparking and it looked like he was holding lightning in his hand. "Hello Mercy," he said before driving his electrified hand into her chest.

* * *

No worries, I wrote that poem, I didn't plagiarize anybody. And I'll get more into the description of the bot from Mercy's dreams in the next chapter. Sorry for the short chapters, I hope to make the next one longer. Please review!!


	3. Android

Well, I've got nothing to say. Thanks to all of those reviewing, you know who you are and I appreciate it very much.

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**Chapter Three: Android**

Mercy had always been cursed with flaws that gave people reasons to pick on her as they did. She had flaws in all her classes; she got zeroes on all her homework, even when she did it. Her math teacher didn't accept it because she never showed work, her English and history teachers didn't like how she never used complete sentences, and her science teacher couldn't understand where she was coming from on the hypothesizes she made for her experiments. And this gave Mercy's classmates reason to pick on her.

Another thing Mercy was cursed with was gym. She just wasn't the athletic type at all. The girl hated running, and couldn't run to save her life. She hated any sport that involved a ball, and since most sports do, Mercy sucked at them all. When the class played soccer, the ball always managed to make contact with her face, painfully. In tennis and badminton, Mercy couldn't make contact with the ball or birdie. This gave her classmates a comical show to watch.

An even worse class evolved from gym class though, and that was swim. All her life, Mercy had been absolutely terrified of water, and for no apparent reason either. She had gone swimming before, but always stayed in water where she could touch the bottom. Her parents never took her out much even when they were with her, thus she didn't know how to swim. And her gym teachers abandoned her when it came time for swim class. They stuck her in the shallow end of the pool and just ignored her while they worked with the rest of the class. Since Mercy couldn't participate, she was flunked. And all her classmates were brutal about it.

And she truly believed she was the most imperfect person. Her hair was never the way everyone else wanted it to be. It wasn't perfectly straight or nice and curly. It was just tangled, and hopeless; Mercy couldn't do anything about it. She was picked on about her clothes too. Mercy wasn't rich, and she didn't have a job. The only money she got was from her parents in the mail. And that amount of money was only good to pay bills and buy food and other necessities. No real expensive designer clothing.

Mercy wasn't quite sure why she was thinking about this as she slowly started to regain consciousness. Maybe it was from the pain that was coursing through her chest at the moment, seething its tentacles into her brain and making her think about other things that pained her. Mercy shook her head and opened her eyes, she tried to sit up but only discovered she couldn't move.

"About time you woke up," came the voice, but not in her head.

Mercy looked to where she had heard the voice and saw the robot that had hurt her sitting on the sofa in her room. She glared at him briefly without saying anything. The girl then looked over herself, and noticed not only a severe burn on her chest that had vaporized some of her shirt, but she was tied to the bed with bed sheets as well.

"This is bad comedy," she hissed turning her attention back to the robot, "Let me go and get out of my house."

"I'm in charge here and I suggest you don't order me around."

"In charge? Don't make me laugh," Mercy scoffed.

The robot narrowed his optics and went over to Mercy and tightly grasped her small neck, "This is no laughing matter Mercy. Since you agreed to help me, everything that was yours is now mine, you're under my command now."

"I'm not going to play your game."

"You have no choice," he said squeezing harder and then letting go.

"I don't see how you need me," Mercy remarked, "Now that you appear to be back among the living."

"Appear is the keyword there, take a good look at me Mercy."

He was nearly her size, but he was still a good two feet taller than her. His optics were pale blue, his armor was purple, black, yellow, and gray with hints of red, white, and greenish blue. He had two very noticeable horns protruding from his head, and looked identical to the robot from her dream. Except in her dream he was much, much taller. The thing that was odd about his form though was it being kind of…ghostly. He wasn't transparent, but more translucent. You could see through him, but not that well.

"You're a ghost?"

"Correct."

"Can you go through walls?"

"No, I lost that ability once you agreed to help me," the robot stated, "And nothing can pass through me either."

Mercy thought about making a rude remark about that, but decided better of it. She was after all at a slight disadvantage being tied down to her own bed. The robot fingered the burn on her chest causing an involuntary cry to emit from Mercy's throat.

"Hurt?" he asked with a smirk on his face.

"I don't answer stupid questions."

The robot pressed his hand forcefully against her burn, Mercy stifled a scream. "You will learn not to back talk me," he threatened.

"Stop it," she pleaded trying to make him stop.

"Does it hurt Mercy?" he snarled.

"Yes."

"Good," he sneered removing his hand. He then took out what appeared to be a pair of scissors from his subspace.

"What are you doing with those?" Mercy inquired.

"I'm going to cut off your shirt," he responded taking hold of the bottom of her shirt and started cutting up the seam, "I hope this wasn't one of your favorites."

"What does it matter? It's ruined anyway," Mercy grumbled knowing her feeble amount of shirts had gotten even feebler, "Just don't cut off my bra."

"I might have to, depending on the size of the burn."

"You're not going to no matter what."

"Don't order me around kid, you're at my mercy right now. Just think about how easy it would be for me to cut your skin and say it was an accident," the robot threatened.

Mercy ignored him and proceeded in trying to wriggle one of her hands free. The robot didn't notice and soon succeeded in cutting off the backside of her shirt and slid it out from underneath her. He then went to remove the front, when Mercy cried out.

"Now what?" he asked irritably.

"It hurt," Mercy remarked glaring at him.

"Quit shooting me that dirty look," he retorted and examined her wound more carefully, "Looks like I melted some of your shirt to your skin."

Mercy groaned in disbelief, "Just perfect."

"Isn't it? Now how do you propose I go about removing it? Ripping or cutting?" the robot asked with a grin of pleasure on his face.

"I propose you don't touch me, let me go, and get the hell out of my house," Mercy hissed.

Megatron seized her throat in his hand again and said angrily; "Don't talk to me in that tone."

Unable to breath Mercy choked out, "Alright."

The robot let her go and proceeded to cut away scraps of her shirt until only the melted parts remained. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully then trying to think of a way to remove the melted on parts. An idea came to him as he put the "scissors" away and took out what looked like a laser pen. Except this laser was a lot more powerful and used for things other than pointing things out.

"Hold still Mercy, this may hurt a bit," the robot warned.

Mercy was praying that this wouldn't hurt too much and that the robot wouldn't cut her bra off either. The robot didn't notice her worried look as he began cutting her skin with the laser.

The pain was unbelievable. Mercy thought she was getting an unwanted taste of hell. It was like an electrical shock from a knife that was slashing her over and over again. All she could visualize was a sadist carving, slashing away, and twisting her chest with a sadistic grin of pleasure across his face as she squirmed desperately trying to get away.

They say there's nothing like the smell of burning flesh. It was so morbid, and so disgusting, Mercy thought she was either going to vomit or pass out. They say muscle tissue gives off the smell of beef in a frying pan, but Mercy's muscle tissue wasn't burning. Her iron-rich blood and blood vessels were burning, giving off an acrid coppery and metallic smell. Her skin was burning giving off a charcoal like smell. Mercy was able to hold her stomach and remain conscious though.

It seemed like an eternity though before the robot finally finished. He put his laser utensil away and rubbed some sort of disinfectant on her wound that burned right through her. The robot then wrapped her wound and Mercy's bra had been left on the entire time. He then walked back over to the sofa and took a seat.

Mercy had managed to wriggle one of her hands free. The robot noticed and smirked, "I'm afraid that your efforts come too late."

"Just shut up and untie me," she remarked struggling to untie her other hand.

The robot watched her for a moment and then said, "If you're so desperate to get free, you can free yourself."

Mercy glared at him for a few moments and then concentrated on untying herself. It didn't take her long to finally succeed. Even though her chest was throbbing and burning, she sat up on her bed and looked the robot in the optic. "Why'd you hurt me?" she asked.

"You'll see soon enough."

"You say that a lot."

"I have my reasons."

Mercy decided to change the topic and asked, "So what's your name? C3PO, R2D2, or something along those lines?"

"I'm Megatron, leader of the decepticons."

"Do you come in peace?"

Megatron rolled his optics, "No, and I haven't come here seeking out your leader either."

"Did you bring me back in the house and tie me to the bed?"

"Yes, stop asking questions, it's late, go to sleep Mercy."

Mercy glanced at the clock realizing it was 10:00pm. Saturday had come and gone without her even realizing it. Reluctantly she went into the bathroom and changed into her pajamas. She brushed her teeth rather quickly not really caring about her personal hygiene at the moment. While she was brushing her hair though, she noticed that her auburn hair had a slight lavender tint to it. Figuring there was something wrong with the lighting, Mercy ignored it and returned to her room.

Megatron snickered as she came back into her room and inquired, "You feeling alright Mercy? You look rather pale."

Mercy glanced at her skin noticing it was a little whiter than normal. Maybe she was just getting sick or something and responded, "I don't see what's so funny."

"Well, there's your hair too, it looks different…in color."

"You did something to me didn't you?" Mercy demanded turning and facing the decepticon leader full on.

Megatron suddenly went defensive and said, "Go to bed Mercy."

"What did you do to me?"

"Nothing…you'll just…be a little…different in the morning," Megatron remarked having a hard time finding the right words.

"What did you do?" she was nearly screaming.

Megatron got up from the couch, grabbed her by her auburn hair, and hoisted her up to his height. "I said go to bed," he snarled angrily and let Mercy go.

Mercy landed on her feet with tears in her eyes. Her hair was messed up now, but that didn't matter to her. Her scalp felt like it had been torn in two from him doing that to her, it _burned._ Angrily, Mercy kicked him in the shin and turned to her bed. Once she settled in, Megatron turned out the light and returned to the sofa where he sat.

He would hear her sniffle from time to time. And even though Megatron couldn't see her through the darkness, he knew she was crying. She had her back to him; that much the decepticon leader could tell. "Mercy, quit blubbering and go to sleep," he said.

"Go to hell," she cried angrily back, "Go back to that void where you came from and rot."

Megatron couldn't hold his anger back after Mercy said that and got up from the sofa where he was seated and seized Mercy's throat with both hands. "Don't _ever_ say that again," he threatened with every hint of anger in his voice, "I would've _killed _you right now if I didn't have to keep you alive."

Mercy looked into his blue optics that were piercing into her eyes, she was terrified, and hoped that he couldn't see it. Instead of succumbing to his wrath she stated, "I have a feeling you would've killed me long before now."

That seemed to calm Megatron down a bit as he loosened his grip some and said, "You're lucky Mercy, you're so lucky."

Mercy decided to level with him for now and whispered, "I'm sorry."

After some reluctance, Megatron let her go and simply sat on the edge of her bed. "I can't wait until all this is over and I can just forget about you," he confessed.

Mercy frowned and asked, "Why can't you have me dead?"

"Your survival is key to my revival."

"Explain."

"If you die, I can never be brought back into existence as a normal transformer. I'll remain trapped in that void forever," Megatron told.

Mercy was silent for a few moments then said; "I feel no pity for you."

"You're an idiot," Megatron replied returning to the sofa, "Now go to sleep."

"You're just like everyone else," Mercy sighed before falling asleep.

Megatron was left glowering in the darkness.

* * *

Mercy awoke the next morning lying on her back. Something was different. First of all, she _never_ awoke lying on her back; it was very uncomfortable for her to even sleep on her back. Secondly, her chest didn't hurt at all from where Megatron had inflicted utmost pain upon her. Third, Megatron was sound asleep on the sofa gently snoring.

Rolling her eyes, Mercy got out of bed, but she didn't have to go to the bathroom. She tried to go of course, but only succeeded in failing. Knowing something was wrong; Mercy looked in the bathroom mirror…and screamed.

Her hazel eyes were now pale blue, her skin, which had been pale before, was now deathly white. Her figure was the same, but the change that had startled her the most was her hair. Before, her auburn hair was grown so it went half way down her back. Now her _lavender_ hair fell just below her buttocks. And this had all happened overnight.

"MEGATRON!" she shouted through clenched teeth when she marched angrily back into her room.

Megatron's optics flickered online. He smirked when he saw Mercy, "Aw how cute, you got my face."

"What did you do to me?" she snarled with bloodlust in her eyes.

"I made you immortal."

Mercy was ready to faint, "Immortal? I don't want to live forever."

"Well, what's done is done, you can't go back, only forward."

"Like I've never heard that one before. What did you do to me?" Mercy repeated herself in a demanding tone.

"I made you an android using my energy field and dark powers…I just didn't think you'd get my looks too, but all this has its benefits though."

Mercy crossed her arms, "How so?"

"For one, you're a lot more powerful. You don't have to eat anymore, or go to the bathroom. Your flesh has become metallic, your insides are functioning machinery, and your bones are now titanium. Your blood is energon, and you'll drink unleaded oil on a daily basis to keep your energy levels up, and since you're more resistant to heat and cold now, the hair on your arms and legs and other places I will not mention are no longer there," Megatron explained.

"_At least I won't have to shave anymore," _Mercy thought then said, "And just how am I going to get unleaded oil?"

"I'll provide it for you. Anymore questions?"

When she looked him in the optic, that's when she first noticed it. A slight dizziness hit her and left as suddenly as it came. Then she felt it…an utmost urge to burn something. To light a match to her pain and watch it burn away, but this urge was traveling through her veins—circuits and being deposited in her core.

"I should probably mention one thing," Megatron spoke up suddenly not noticing her changed expression, "With my dark energy and powers inside you—

"You burned my flesh and I didn't like the smell," Mercy said suddenly changing the topic.

Megatron was confused by her statement but decided to play along, "And?"

"I've changed my mind."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I _want_ to smell _their_ flesh as it burns."

"Whose Mercy?"

"My classmates," she explained hungry for the smell, "I'm going to _burn _them."

* * *

Creepy…gross maybe, but I'm liking this. No, Mercy can't transform she's not a transformer. She's an android like it says in the story. By the way, this chapter is longer than the first two chapters combined. I've been trying to capture Megatron's character for this story, _**please**_ _**review**_ and tell me if I am or not.


	4. Definition of a Psychopath

Just a little heads up, some of the italicized sentences/words are symptoms of a psychopath. If the italicized words/sentences have quotation marks around them, or are in bold, then they're someone speaking/thinking. Sorry if I confuddled you.

* * *

**Chapter Four: Definition of a Psychopath**

When Megatron first realized his only way out of the void was through a human female, he hadn't been the least bit thrilled. And that night, as Mercy slept with the moonlight glimmering on her lavender locks of hair, he could see plainly how disturbed she was.

Megatron had a lot of suspicions about Mercy. He wanted to know her intelligence level, what kind of behavioral problems she was having, and how antisocial she was. Since she was asleep, Megatron had some time to find some things out.

He started with her backpack; he quietly went through it finding it a total mess of papers. He looked through some of the papers, realizing they were homework assignments. Some of them were her math papers with complex math problems written on them, no work to solve them, but there were answers. Inscribed on the tops of all the math papers were the words written in red ink, "No work shown, no credit." And a nice zero was branded on the page.

Megatron went through more of the papers realizing Mercy got zeroes on all of her assignments. He read through some of the questions and read her answers, and they were all right. So why was she getting zeroes on her homework? Megatron continued digging through her backpack until he found one of her report cards. He was a little startled to see she was passing all of her classes, even with all the averaged in zeroes.

He read some of the teachers' comments that basically all said the same thing: Quit cheating off other students' homework. Megatron thought about this; _"Mercy hates her classmates, why would she cheat off them?"_ It certainly didn't make sense if she was _passing_ all her classes. Perhaps her teachers didn't understand how intelligent Mercy really was. Megatron was determined to find out the next day.

_Average or above average intelligence._

The decepticon leader put everything back in the backpack and then returned it to its rightful place. He then resumed his seat on the sofa and stared at the sleeping Mercy. She had spent the day sulking around the house wanting something to do, but there was nothing.

_Prone to boredom._

While Mercy was sulking about, Megatron had gotten a good look around the house. Things seemed to be out of place here and there. There was hardly any food in the house; Mercy hadn't bothered to do any chores so the house was dirty. She wasn't lazy though; Megatron had figured that out.

_No sense of responsibility._

Megatron laid back on the sofa still thinking. Mercy was different from the rest of the human race, personality wise and not because she was an android. He'd go to school with her the next day, he wanted to see what her life was really like and what made her so different.

Quite honestly Megatron didn't think too highly of Mercy. Even though she was an android, he still thought of her like every other human. He couldn't wait until he was normal again, he could leave Mercy behind and forget she existed. Or he could just give her a little squeeze and put her out of her misery.

"_That's what her parents should have named her, Misery instead of Mercy," _he thought, _"Just where are her parents anyway? Screw it, I'll ask her in the morning." _And with that Megatron fell asleep.

* * *

Mercy awoke the next morning before the sun came up. She went to the bathroom where she dressed herself, brushed her teeth, and then returned to her room. The girl watched Megatron sleep for a few minutes and then got bored with it.

She had noticed the toothpaste tasted quite awful that morning, and the taste still lingered in her mouth. Being thirsty though, she didn't want to wait for Megatron to wake up and get her a drink of unleaded oil.

Mercy went over to him and poked him in an attempt to wake the decepticon leader up. When he didn't stir, Mercy frowned and rammed her fist into his shoulder. She succeeded that time.

Megatron's optics flared to life and he glared at Mercy, "What do you want?"

"I'm thirsty," she stated crossing her arms.

Megatron rolled over onto his side so his back was to her, "Go rob a gas station or something…what are you doing up so early?"

"I always wake up at this time," Mercy stated jabbing him repeatedly in the side with her metal finger, "You said you'd provide me with some oil, hand it over."

"Leave me alone," Megatron grumbled batting away her hand.

"You obviously don't care about me or you wouldn't do this."

"Clever girl."

Mercy punched him in the back; "You should get it for me."

Megatron sat up and stretched, "Why are you so eager?"

"I'm _thirsty._"

The decepticon leader groaned and extracted a can of unleaded oil from his subspace. Mercy snatched it out of his hand before Megatron had a chance to hand it to her.

_Cunning and manipulative._

Megatron watched as Mercy drank the oil slowly, as if savoring every drop. When she finally finished, she set the can aside and sat on the edge of her bed. "Where are your parents?" Megatron asked bluntly.

"I don't know, they're anywhere but here."

"Do they ever come home?"

"No, all they do is send a feeble amount of money through the mail. Barely enough to get me by," Mercy explained.

Megatron looked at Mercy a moment then said, "I'm going to school with you today."

"You'll be seen."

"I can go invisible with my 'ghost' powers."

"Why are you coming?"

"Just to see how poorly treated you are."

"Why? You don't care about me."

"I'm just curious about something, now stop asking questions."

Mercy didn't say anything and simply stared at Megatron. Megatron hated how she was always looking at him. He got up and went over to Mercy. Mercy didn't even look up at him. He grabbed her by the shirt collar and yanked her up to his optic level.

"Look at me Mercy," he hissed angrily.

Mercy looked at him.

"Stop staring at me, and as for you beating me up this morning, I should punish you, but I'm not going to. And you know why?"

"I don't care."

"You're pathetic Mercy, I don't want to bother wasting my time with you," Megatron explained, "I know best Mercy, and you will respect that."

"I didn't do anything wrong."

"You punched me."

"You've got no proof that I've ever touched you."

"Quit lying Mercy, you know very well what you've done wrong," Megatron stated and then let her go.

_Failure to accept responsibility for their own actions._

Megatron had just proven another part of his theory and returned to his position on the sofa. Sunlight streaked through the window illuminating Mercy's lavender hair. Glaring at Megatron, she picked up her backpack and left her home. Megatron followed a few seconds later.

* * *

It was a fifteen-minute walk to school; Mercy had figured that out ages ago. Once she got to her locker on the second floor of the school, she shoved her backpack inside, put a pen in her pocket, and went to her homeroom. Her teacher wasn't there yet so she waited outside his locked door.

_**"Why are you wearing a hood Mercy?"**_

"_Get out of my head."_

_**"I asked you a question."**_

_"I'm wearing it to cover my hair."_

_**"Afraid of what your peers might think?"**_

_"Of course, now get out of my head."_

Megatron didn't say anything in reply. Mercy thus waited, alone and quiet, until her teacher finally came. Her homeroom teacher didn't say anything to her as he unlocked his door and went inside. He didn't even bother to hold the door open for her as he went inside.

_**"Harsh."**_

Mercy didn't say anything and reluctantly went inside her homeroom. Her homeroom teacher glanced at her while taking off his coat and then said, "Mercy, why don't you go hang out with the other kids?"

"Kids is definitely the appropriate term for them," Mercy stated flatly taking her seat.

Her teacher looked uncomfortable and continued, "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

Mercy glanced at him, "No."

"Nowhere?"

"Look," Mercy exclaimed turning to give her teacher her full attention, "I'm not a disease."

"Sometimes I wonder," the teacher muttered under his breath.

Mercy stood and slammed her chair into her desk creating a loud clash of metal. The girl grabbed her books and left her homeroom.

_**"Where are you going Mercy?"**_

She ignored him and proceeded to the girl's bathroom where she locked herself in one of the stalls. Mercy stayed there until the bell rang and then went to her first period class, chemistry with her teacher, Mr. Marx.

Mercy took her normal seat in the back of the classroom and contented herself by staring at her desk. She hadn't removed the hood she was wearing, but she could whispers around her. The second bell rang and Mr. Marx started class.

"Excuse me, Mr. Marx?" called one of the prep girls.

"Yes?" the teacher replied turning his attention to the girl.

"Don't you think Mercy should take off her hood? I mean, we should all abide by laboratory safety rules," the prep explained.

Mercy turned to the girl and rebutted, "Then perhaps you should spit out your gum and wear shoes instead of sandals. Who knows, you may have one of your famous klutz attacks and spill something on those precious toes of yours. Besides, it's the middle of winter."

The prep's cheeks turned red from anger and she simply said, "You have no business calling my toes precious."

"Enough girls. Brittany, wear shoes tomorrow; Mercy take off the hood," Mr. Marx ordered.

Mercy hesitated and Mr. Marx prodded at her again this time more threateningly. Slowly Mercy lifted a hand and removed the hood. Gasps echoed through the classroom and a student remarked suddenly, "What disease did you catch?"

The girl didn't say anything as people pointed out her eyes were blue. Feeling hideous, Mercy sank down in her chair and tried not to listen to the chatter going on around her.

"She's just trying to fit in with us, well with that look she's going nowhere."

"Her parents must have locked her in a dungeon, look at the color of her skin."

"Is it just me or has her hair gotten longer?"

"I hope her disease isn't contagious."

"Class, settle down."

"What would have possessed her to dye her hair purple?"

"Or get contacts that changed her eyes blue?"

"Shut up," Mercy said calmly.

"We all knew you were retarded before Mercy," the prep girl named Brittany suddenly spoke up," But honestly…what is _this_?"

Mercy didn't say anything.

_**"Say something Mercy, don't be weak, tell her off."**_

_"There's nothing to say, she's right."_

_**"Mercy."**_

The girl rolled her eyes and turned to the prep. "Brittany," Mercy said sweetly, "The 'this' you're referring to is not a disease. So why don't you shut your mouth before I break off each and every one of those toes of yours and shove them in your mouth?"

Brittany tucked one of her blonde locks behind her ear and retorted, "You can't even kick a ball Mercy, I'd like to see you try and break my toes off."

_**"Do it Mercy, that's an order."**_

"And if I don't?" Mercy wondered out loud. She had been asking Megatron, but the prep answered her.

"You're a coward Mercy."

"And you're a slut so what's the difference?"

"Enough!" Mr. Marx shouted suddenly, "Mercy, go to the office."

"But I didn't do—

"Don't give me that. Get your butt up and go," Mr. Marx stated.

Mercy glared at him and got up from her desk. She grabbed her books and left.

_**"You lie a lot."**_

_"I have a feeling you're no better than me."_

_**"Perhaps."**_

Mercy went down to the office where she waited patiently in the lobby until one of the secretaries noticed her.

"Hello Mercy, Mr. Marx called and said you were coming. How long have you been standing there?"

Mercy didn't bother to reply. Uneasy, the secretary waved her into the principal's office. His name was Mr. Cushiant, and he had a reputation. He was a balding thin haired man approaching his late forties. He was married, but he had no children of his own. Hardly ever did he enforce the dress code, especially when it came to women. His reputation: being perverted.

Mr. Cushiant was rumored to stand at the bottom of the stairs outside his office and watch as girls came down. There were reports of him looking down girls' shirts and stalking some others. Mercy knew these rumors were true, and why he still had a job was a mystery. Forgetting about his reputation though, Mercy went into his office and took a seat in front of his desk.

The principal looked up, "Ah Mercy. What did you do this time?"

"Nothing," she murmured.

"Oh really? I got a call from Mr. Marx saying that you were threatening another student," he said lowering his gaze.

"She started the whole thing," she protested feeling his eyes on her breasts.

"Why don't you tell me what happened?"

Mercy thought for a moment then said, "You don't need to know."

_**"Mercy, you don't need to get yourself into more trouble."**_

_"I know what I'm doing."_

_**"No you don't Mercy."**_

"Mercy, don't start this," Mr. Cushiant stated raising his gaze, "The punishment will be less severe if you just tell me."

"She, that witch, Brittany Smith sat down behind me and started pulling my hair because she thought it looked bad. Then she and the rest of the class started mocking me. I had every right to threaten her," Mercy explained.

_**"Lies."**_

_"Not all of it."_

"Mercy, you come down here almost everyday. You've already been diagnosed by the health clinic with behavioral problems and poor behavioral control," Mr. Cushiant exclaimed.

"Those health clinic doctors don't have any right to be diagnosing me."

"They're professional doctors. Now tell me Mercy, what are your long term goals?"

"This has nothing to do with—

"Just answer the question," Mr. Cushiant stated lowering his gaze.

"They're none of your business."

_**"Answer his questions truthfully Mercy or you're in for it later."**_

_"Why?"_

_**"Because I said so."**_

_"That's no reason."_

_**"Mercy you better listen to me or else."**_

"Will you please cooperate Mercy?"

"I don't really have any…other than burning the whole world down."

Mr. Cushiant blinked a couple of times then said, "Perhaps you should get some mental help."

"I don't have any money, and really, I don't need it."

"You wouldn't have to pay for it—

"I really don't have time for this nonsense."

"If you haven't noticed Mercy, you do have a problem," Mr. Cushiant remarked.

Mercy glared at him, "Really now? How about you say things to my face rather than my breasts?"

"Lunch detention."

"Oh boo hoo."

"After school detention."

_**"Shut up Mercy."**_

_"Make me."_

_**"That's it, you're as good as dead now."**_

"I'll be leaving now Mr. Cushiant," Mercy said standing and walking out of the room. _"He'll be the first to burn,"_ she thought.

_Lack of realistic long-term goals. Poor behavioral controls and behavioral problems. Untruthfulness. Antisocial behavior._

_**"What class do you have now Mercy?"**_

_"Gym, but I'm skipping."_

_**"Good, I need to talk to you."**_

"_I'm listening,"_ Mercy responded walking out of the school and heading downtown.

_**"I want to know a couple things, for instance, if you've ever tried to commit suicide."**_

_"No I haven't."_

_**"If someone were to say you were beautiful, what would you think?"**_

_"They've got bad eye sight. C'mon, it's totally obvious I'm the most hideous creature on the earth."_

_**"Have you ever had any friends?"**_

_"Once or twice, but they weren't my friends very long."_

_**"Alright, that's enough for now, get back to class Mercy."**_

_"No way, gym class has only gotten started, I'm not going back yet."_

_**"I said go back to class."**_

_"Fine, but if I hurt myself, you'll burn as well."_

_**"Don't threaten me Mercy. I already said you're in for it later."**_

Mercy ignored him and turned around and went back to the school and to her gym class. She walked in only to be face to face with her gym teacher, Coach Hill, but everyone called him Coach Kill.

"It's nice of you to join us Mercy, go get changed and then you can demonstrate to the class how to hit a softball," the Coach sneered.

Mercy heard some of the class giggle as she didn't say anything and went into the locker room to change into her gym clothes. She wasn't nervous about this; she was unusually calm about knowing she was going to make a fool of herself.

_Absence of anxiety. Inability to see oneself as others do. No history of suicide attempts. _

Once changed, Mercy emerged from the locker room and was immediately handed a metal bat. She took her place beside home plate, which was a rug so she could throw the bat down on it without damaging the floor. The ball was rubber, but about the same size as a softball.

_**"When I say swing, swing."**_

_"You don't know how to play softball."_

_**"I understand the general concept of what you're supposed to do. Now get ready."**_

Coach Hill tossed the ball at Mercy with a smirk of amusement on his face. Mercy glared at him as the ball neared.

_**"Swing."**_

Mercy swung with all her might. Before she could grasp what had happened, the ball bounced down to the floor in the back of the gym. Mercy simply walked to first base.

_**"If you had ran, you would've made it to the next base."**_

_"I hate running."_

The android swore she heard Megatron smile. Her pride quickly faded though when her Coach got the ball back and looked at her asking, "So just what kind of a freak did you become over the weekend? Do you think because you changed your hair color and eye color and got extensions you'll do well in this class? Enlighten me Mercy."

Mercy looked down and didn't say anything. His words had _burned_ her.

"Are you on steroids now Mercy?" he persisted, "You'll never be anything of worth, so put on your normal act and be your pathetic self."

Mercy stepped off the base and Coach Hill threw the ball at her, hitting her square in the face.

"Out," he called.

Mercy looked up at him with a death glare and tears in her eyes. "I'm safe," she mumbled.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm safe," she answered louder, "You can't throw a ball at a runner in softball and call them out. You have to tag either them or the base."

"Are you mocking me Mercy?" the Coach asked with irritation in his voice.

"No, I'm just stating the facts."

"Are you saying that I'm wrong?"

"Yes."

Coach Hill looked ready to burst from anger. Mercy just continued glaring at him. He finally realized he was beat, growled, and pitched to the next batter.

_**"Good job Mercy."**_

_"He is so going to pay for saying all that crap to me."_

_**"Calm down Mercy."**_

Mercy ignored him and glanced at the clock wishing time would pass faster.

* * *

The final bell rang at 3:10pm, it's normal time. Mercy dumped her books in her locker and walked home skipping her after school detention. She walked inside only to see Megatron standing in her kitchen with his arms crossed and glaring at her. Mercy kicked off her shoes and took off her backpack.

"Can I help you?" Mercy asked returning the glare.

Megatron walked up and grabbed her by the shirt collar. He hoisted her up to his level and demanded to know, "So how far did you think your insubordination would get you?"

"You're not the boss of me."

"Yes I am Mercy. Without me, you wouldn't get very far. You need me."

"I was fine without you," Mercy remarked.

"Just wait and you'll see how much you need me."

"I don't need you."

"That's what you think, now as for your punishment. I can't have you doing things wrong without me being there to punish you for it."

"Yes you can," Mercy stated fidgeting to get out of his grasp.

"Hold still Mercy," he exclaimed as a dark mist surrounded the fist of his free hand.

Mercy noticed and said, "Let me go."

"Okay," he remarked dropping her to the floor.

This caught Mercy off guard and she fell on her bottom. Megatron immediately pounced on her and pinned her to floor pressing his misting hand to her head. Mercy could feel the dark energy seeping inside of her, and it wasn't the least bit pleasant.

"Stop it," she cried trying unsuccessfully to free herself from her captor.

"Hold still," Megatron hissed, "This is for your own good."

"What are you doing?" she demanded ignoring Megatron's command to hold still.

"I'll tell you once I'm done, now quit struggling, it's not getting you anywhere."

Once again Mercy didn't listen and managed to pull her arm free from Megatron's weight. She then shoved his hand off her head and tried to shove the decepticon leader off of herself. The android didn't succeed and only made Megatron furious.

"You've done it now Mercy," he exclaimed bitterly and pinned her arms behind her back and pushed his weight against her. He then seized her head with his misted hand and continued the process where he had left off.

"You're hurting me," she hissed.

"Do you really think I care?" Megatron snarled back.

Mercy satisfied herself by glaring at him and waiting for the pain to end. Minutes later, Megatron finished and got off her. His hand had returned to normal and he left the kitchen without even bothering to help Mercy off the floor. Not wanting his help anyway, the girl got up and brushed the dust off her that had been on the floor.

She then sat at the kitchen table and put her head down. _"You didn't tell me what you did," _Mercy thought angrily.

Megatron emerged from the hallway suddenly with a smirk of satisfaction on his face, "Very observant you are Mercy."

"You heard me?"

"Yes, you didn't close your telepathic link."

"Whatever," she mumbled her face still buried in the table, "Just go away and leave me alone."

"Don't order me around Mercy."

Mercy picked her head up and looked at him, "Just who do you think you are coming into my life thinking you can control it?"

Megatron scowled, "I don't think I can, I already do."

"You have no right."

"I have every right Mercy."

Mercy felt a tinge of pain in her head, like someone was squeezing her brain—CPU. It was like tentacles wrapping around it and getting ready to squeeze without mercy.

"That's what you think," she remarked twisting his own words against him, "Now what did you do to me?"

"This," he said just as a wave of pain hit Mercy.

Mercy clutched her head and squeezed her eyes shut in pain, "Stop it."

Smirking, Megatron stopped the pain and said, "I transferred some of my dark energy into your mind so if you think anything I don't like, I can punish you."

"That's not fair."

"It's quite fair, and all you have to do is start acting better and I'll remove it."

"Don't you need your dark energy though to help you come back to life?"

"Yes, but it was a small sacrifice I was willing to make," Megatron stated smugly.

Mercy groaned as she put her head back down on the table. She couldn't wait until all this was over. The android heard Megatron walk back down the hallway from where he had come and glanced out the window into the cold snowy world.

A disgusting thing winter was. It froze everything into a white, surreal state. Everything looked dead, and everything was as cold as the dead should be. Mercy ran a hand up her arm. As white as her skin was, it was unnaturally warm. Something boiled in her veins. There was hatred yes, but there was something else still waiting to be set free.

"_I'll burn everything,"_ she thought after sealing off the telepathic link in her mind, _"And my school will be the first to go."_

* * *

Extremely long chapter, yes I know. I hope you enjoyed it, please review!!


	5. My Friend

Well, I'm finally back from that vacation I took. It felt like I was away forever, it feels really good to be home now. At least I can sleep in tomorrow and I hope I don't have to deal with 95-degree weather anymore. Enough rambling, here's the next chapter.

* * *

**Chapter Five: My Friend**

Mercy managed to survive the rest of the week without incident. Brittany wore tennis shoes for the rest of the week and just simply ignored Mercy in the process. The android went to gym class, even though Coach Hill criticized her every time she did something right or wrong, it didn't matter. Try as she might, Mercy knew she would never gain the respect of her classmates and teachers. She really didn't care to impress them anyway.

It was Sunday night and the girl sat on her bed looking out the window. Thick, black clouds covered the sky. Every now and then there would be a small break in the clouds and Mercy would get a quick glimpse of the moon and then the clouds would consume it again. _"A narrow escape," _Mercy thought not realizing her telepathic link was open, _"To escape through the clouds then be swallowed by the sickly pale light of the moon and the flickering light of the stars. Curse the light and its false beauty."_

Her thoughts didn't make much sense, but yet that was just Mercy's personality. Opening the window in her room, she carefully removed the screen and leaned out into the bitterly cold night, of course it only felt like a chill to her. A gentle breeze blew dancing with the locks of her hair as if begging her to come outside and play.

The snow had come quickly that year; in fact, it first fell after Megatron arrived. It had snowed all week leaving deep drifts of white across the land. The breeze picked up some loose snow and created a brief whirlwind before it disappeared into the night. _"So frozen, so cold," _she thought, _"Numb and limited. I don't want to be limited. I want to be free from this frozen world, free like an eternal flame."_

_**"Suck it up Mercy. Your pathetic rambling is driving me insane."**_

_"No one asked for your opinion."_

A pain ripped through Mercy's head causing her to cringe and turn away from the window. Mercy could feel Megatron's hands clawing into her CPU as if trying to rip it apart.

_**"What was that Mercy?"**_

_"A mistake."_

_**"Correct, now what do you say?"**_

Mercy knew that Megatron was taunting her, trying to make her suffering last as long as possible. Putting a hand to her head she replied, _"I'm sorry, it won't happen again Megatron."_

_**"That's what you said last time Mercy, which was this morning. It seems you don't know how to learn from your mistakes."**_

_"So what do I have to say now?"_

_**"How about you think of something on your own? Unless that is of course, you enjoy the pain."**_

Mercy was quiet for a few moments trying to think of the right words to say. Finally she stated, _"Alright, I'm wrong, you're right. Since you know best, I apologize for what I said I'll respect you as the one who is in charge."_ Mercy knew she was lying, but she was also hoping that this would convince Megatron to end the horrid pain.

_**"And how am I supposed to know you're not lying?"**_

_"I promise."_

_**"Your promises mean nothing."**_

_"Then I guess you'll have to wait and see."_

_**"Mercy, I am leader of the decepticons; it is best you not lie to me like you do."**_

_"Was I supposed to take that as a threat?"_

Megatron wanted to send out another wave of pain but held back since Mercy did not know the meaning of the word decepticon.

_**"Mercy, have you even the slightest idea as to what my reputation is?"**_

_"Like every other super villains, you're a power thirsty maniac seeking universal domination and you use fear to get what you want,"_ Mercy stated trying desperately to massage the pain out of her head. It felt like a migraine, only fifty times worse.

**_"You forgot a part."_**

_"End the pain and enlighten me as to what that missing part is."_

**_"Do not order me around."_**

_"Alright."_

There was a silence between them for a few moments. Megatron was out in the living room sitting on the couch. He had been thinking about what he was going to do once he was really alive again instead of his ghostly form. He knew the first thing he would do was kill Mercy. Once she was taken care of, he would return to Cybertron and build up an army to lead against the autobots.

Megatron had the hardest time thinking of what to convince his troops to fight for. The decepticon leader had many things he wanted to accomplish that would merely benefit himself. Killing his arched foe Optimus Prime was his main goal at the moment; control of Cybertron was next, and then the universe. The decepticon knew whoever had a weakness for power would follow him in the hopes they'd be guaranteed some. Finding troops was the least of his worries. His main concern right now was standing Mercy long enough to return to the living.

_"Hello! Earth to Megatron, I'm still in pain here,"_ Mercy suddenly called snapping the silence between them.

**_"If I end the pain, will you shut up?"_**

_"Yes, but I still want to hear the missing part of your reputation."_

**_"Fine, but you better live up to your end of the bargain or you'll be going to bed with a bloody nose."_**

_"Fair enough,"_ Mercy exclaimed and felt the pain slowly die away from her head.

Megatron entered Mercy's room only to discover the girl sitting by a wide-open window with the screen removed. She glanced over at him then turned back to the window. Slipping the screen back into its proper place and then shutting the window, Mercy asked, "Just how evil are you?"

The decepticon leader smirked as she turned and faced him. He was delighted that Mercy had worded the question that way. Sitting on the sofa he answered, "Evil."

Mercy grinned at this, "Have you ever killed anyone?"

"Killed anyone? I'm the slayer of countless thousands Mercy, not only do I use fear to get what I want, I kill. Anyone who stands in my way I eliminate them," Megatron explained, "I lie, I steal, I hate, and I murder. I want control of this universe and Optimus Prime lying dead at my feet. I will not stop until I get both."

Mercy seemed engrossed in his words and asked, "Who's Optimus Prime?"

"My foe, the one who killed me and put me in this state."

"The other robot from my dream?"

"Yes, he'll be one of the first to die once I get back."

"One of the first? Who else do you plan on killing?"

"You wouldn't know them," Megatron lied so Mercy wouldn't get any ideas.

"Oh," Mercy mused for a moment then said, "Wish I could have a reputation like that."

"Leave out the word wish and new possibilities are presented to you."

Mercy revised her sentence and smiled wickedly. Megatron noticed and commanded, "Don't you dare try to go and stir up trouble. That's the last thing we need right now. Now go to bed, it's getting late and you have school tomorrow."

"I don't understand."

"Understand what?"

"If all you need to do is keep me alive and away from trouble, why don't you just lock me up in a room somewhere?"

Megatron grinned, "I wish it were that simple. I'm feeding off your energy Mercy, to build up my dark energy. Once my dark energy is replenished, I can restore myself. Now go to bed."

This time Mercy did as Megatron said. The decepticon leader flicked off the light and Mercy fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

The next morning Mercy awoke, got ready, and headed off to school. Megatron accompanied her as usual in his invisible state. He was slowly starting to make this a habit since going to the school was indeed more interesting than just staying at Mercy's home all day.

Mercy didn't know where Megatron went once she got to school, but she assumed he stayed close to her since he always seemed to know what she was doing. It didn't really bother her as to where he went, and thus she let him freely roam the school. It wasn't like she could set limitations on him anyway.

As soon as Mercy sat in homeroom she knew something was up. Her teacher eyed her for a couple seconds and then said, "Mercy, I was wondering if you could do me a favor?"

"What kind of favor?" Mercy asked suspiciously not at all liking the sounds of this.

"Mr. Cushiant informed me this morning that there is a new student from another state joining us."

"Is she in this homeroom?"

"Yes. Since she won't know her way around the school and since you have the exact same schedule as her, I was hoping you could help her out and show her around."

"No one else has the exact same schedule as her?"

"Well, no one in this homeroom does. Will you please do this Mercy?"

"What's her name?"

"Brenna Meyers."

Mercy was quiet for a few moments and then stated, "Alright."

"Thank you Mercy."

Mercy didn't say anything and fiddled with her books instead. She was not the least bit thrilled about doing this. A few minutes later Mr. Cushiant came into the room with a girl Mercy had never seen before. The girl glanced at Mercy and a smile formed on her pierced lip. Mercy got a good look at the girl.

Brenna was wearing a blue jean miniskirt with fishnet stockings. She wore high heel boots that were black and shiny. She wore a white t-shirt with a black corset. Her perfectly straight hair fell just below her shoulder blades and was dyed black. Her eyes were green and outlined with a thick line of black eye liner. Her nose, right eyebrow, and both ears were pierced along with her lip. Mercy returned the smile.

**_"I don't like the looks of her."_**

_"Talk about gothic and emo. I like it."_

**_"Mercy, I don't want you to go near her. She looks like nothing but trouble."_**

_"Do you think I look any better?"_

**_"Well, no, but after today I do not want you to socialize with her again. Understood?"_**

_"We'll see."_

**_"Do not try my patience Mercy."_**

Mercy ignored him and waited patiently as Brenna was introduced to the teacher of the homeroom. A few minutes later Mr. Cushiant left the room and the teacher glanced towards Mercy then turned his attention back to Brenna.

"Mercy," the teacher called.

"Yes?" Mercy asked turning her attention to Brenna and her superior.

"Brenna, this is Mercy LeCroix. She has the same schedule as you and will be showing you around today," the teacher explained, "Let me just warn you though, Mercy can be quite the oddball."

Brenna smirked and said, "We'll see about that."

"Mercy, why don't you take Brenna to her locker?"

"If you insist," Mercy stated getting up from her chair, "Which one is it?"

"Mr. What's-His-Face said it was number 2024," Brenna exclaimed.

"Then let's go," Mercy responded and both girls left the room together.

For a few moments there was an awkward silence between them. Brenna noticed people staring and whispering. She mused, "They must be looking at me."

"Well, they're whispering about me," Mercy answered.

"Any idea if it's good or bad?"

"Most likely bad. Brenna, if you're looking to make friends and become popular, don't hangout with me."

"Let me guess, you're the classic social reject."

"That just about sums my reputation up."

"Why do your peers hate you?"

"I don't know, why do they hate me?"

"Probably because your different. Every high school needs someone they can pick on, you just so happen to be that someone."

"And how would you know?"

"I'm in your shoes LeCroix."

Mercy rolled her eyes and the girls arrived at the lockers. Brenna found hers and proceeded to open it and put her stuff inside.

"So how come you moved here?" Mercy asked.

"My parents, and mostly me, wanted to get myself away from someone."

"Is it any of my business to ask who?"

"Some guy several years older than me that has been stalking me for the last year. Things started getting bad so we moved," Brenna explained.

"Oh," Mercy exclaimed, "You're parents must really care about you."

"They care too much if you ask me," Brenna replied noticing Mercy's mood darken a bit, "What about your parents?"

"They abandoned me a couple years ago. I live on my own now."

"You WHAT!?"

"Shhh, keep it down. No one else knows and I'd like to keep it that way."

"How the hell do you get money to pay the bills, buy food and clothing?"

"My parents send money through the mail, enough to get me by."

"LeCroix, that's terrible, you should tell someone."

"I just did."

"Besides me."

"Why bother? No one cares."

"I do."

"I don't need your sympathy Brenna."

"Well then I'll force feed it to you. Come by my house after school," Brenna said shutting her locker.

**_"Tell her you can't Mercy, or else."_**

"I can't Brenna, there's stuff I need to do at home and—

"Alright, but I'm giving you a ride home so you don't have to walk outside in that freezing weather."

"The cold doesn't bother me, I'm used to it," Mercy explained.

"I insist," Brenna persisted.

**_"No, I don't want her to know where you live."_**

_"She'll just follow me."_

_**"Hm…you're** **probably right. Have her drop you off at the wrong house."**_

_"What if she wants to come inside or she waits for me to go in?"_

**_"Primus Mercy, I don't know."_**

Mercy thought quickly and then remarked, "Brenna, I have an after school detention that I have to go to tonight that goes until 4:30."

"4:30? Well, that's the time my parents get home from work and they'll expect me home so…maybe you can skip this detention."

"I skipped one last week, I can't afford another."

"Maybe tomorrow then," Brenna mused and the two girls headed back to homeroom.

**_"Good one Mercy, now don't socialize with her anymore than you need to."_**

_"I'll try to avoid her as much as possible, though I don't understand why you're overreacting like this."_

**_"Have you seen that girl? If you hang out with her, you'll just end up in a whole new world of trouble."_**

_"What are you, my father now?"_

**_"Don't mock me Mercy."_**

The bell rang and Mercy took Brenna to their first class of the day. Everything went okay the rest of the morning, until lunch. Mercy was accustomed to not eating, or not even going to the cafeteria at all. Normally, she went outside, even though it was winter, and spent her forty minutes getting fresh air and thinking.

Brenna caught up with her though at her locker. Mercy was forced to show the new girl where the lunchroom was since she didn't know. Once they got to the cafeteria, the android exclaimed, "Welcome to the cafeteria Brenna. Just hop in that lunch line there and you'll be alright."

"Aren't you coming?" Brenna asked.

"No."

"Where are you going?"

"Outside, for the whole period."

"You'll freeze! C'mon and sit with me LeCroix," Brenna persisted, "Besides, you'll need something to eat."

"I don't have any money Brenna."

"Well then I'll loan you some."

"Honestly I'm not hungry."

"Not hungry? What'd you have for breakfast?"

_"Unleaded oil,"_ Mercy thought to herself then replied, "Cereal."

"That's not enough to get you through the day. C'mon," Brenna said pulling Mercy into the cafeteria.

Reluctantly Mercy followed Brenna through the lunchroom and sat at one of the empty tables while Brenna made her way through the lunch line. Mercy thought about leaving, but decided to be nice for once and stay put.

**_"I don't like how she's pushing you around Mercy."_**

_"You don't act any better."_

**_"That's because I have every right to push you around."_**

_"Pft. And I have none?"_

**_"Precisely, but we're off topic. Brenna is distracted, leave the cafeteria now."_**

Mercy glanced over and saw Brenna was talking with Brittany. _"Why that little traitor,"_ Mercy thought angrily.

**_"What did I tell you Mercy?"_**

_"You said she'd only bring trouble, nothing about betrayal."_

**_"Betrayal was a subtopic of trouble."_**

_"Sure."_

**_"Will you just leave? You've tried my patience enough as is."_**

_"As you command,"_ Mercy sighed mentally and went to get up from the table when both Brittany and Brenna came over.

Both girls took seats across from Mercy and the android remarked, "I'll be going."

"No stay," Brittany commanded looking as sweet as she possibly could.

"What do you want Brittany?" Mercy asked sounding annoyed.

"Well, Brenna and I chatted earlier and we both agree that you need a piercing," Brittany explained.

"Piercing! Are you insane? Not only do I not want one, but I can't afford one."

"I'll pay," Brenna said grinning wither her own pierced lip.

"And I'm picking the part of your body," Brittany exclaimed happily.

Mercy could hardly believe that Brenna had gotten Brittany in on this, or maybe it was the other way around.

**_"Leave now Mercy."_**

Brittany examined Mercy carefully then said, "Not your ears, you don't need them to stand out anymore than they already do. Not your naval, hmm…I got it! Your tongue!"

"My…tongue?"

"Of course, now I checked the after school detention list and you must be mistaken because your name's not on it."

"Well, I'll make sure it is by the end of the day."

"No worries, your appointment is at 3:00, ten minutes before school lets out, I've already called and scheduled it. Me and Brenna are taking you," Brittany remarked.

"I can't just leave school—

Brittany set a permit to leave school down on the table in front of Mercy. "You better come LeCroix, or else," the prep threatened and left the table.

"I hate you Brenna," Mercy exclaimed putting her head down on the table.

"Sorry LeCroix, but karma will come back around and bite me in the butt."

Mercy smirked, "And I'll be there to see that."

"You know LeCroix, you're not that bad of a person."

Mercy lifted her head from the table, "Then you don't really know me."

"I know you well enough," Brenna exclaimed, "You know, no one deserves to be insulted or harassed alone."

"Are you saying you want to join me in my struggle against the rest of the world?"

"If you didn't mind."

"Welcome to the dark side my friend," Mercy said while grinning.

* * *

Mercy arrived home and hour later than usual. Brenna had allowed her to walk home, much to the android's relief. Now all she had to do was live through Megatron's wrath since it was obvious he knew that she had gotten her tongue pierced, though she really hadn't wanted to.

"Let me see," Megatron demanded emerging from the hallway. He hadn't gone to the body piercing shop.

"No, 'cause you'll just rip it out and that'll hurt more than what the piercing did," Mercy protested kicking off her shoes, dumping her backpack from her shoulders, and heading towards the bathroom where there was a mirror.

Megatron blocked the way saying, "Let me see."

Mercy glanced up at him and he grabbed her jaw bone firmly. "Let me see," he repeated once again.

Reluctantly Mercy slid her tongue out of her mouth. On it was a small black sphere. Megatron shook his head and let her go and Mercy slid her tongue back in her mouth.

"Take it out before I do," Megatron commanded.

"I was planning on doing that anyway," Mercy retorted.

The decepticon leader crossed his arms, "I don't like that new girl."

"So? There's nothing you can do about her."

"Stay away from her Mercy."

"No."

"What?"

"I said no," Mercy exclaimed and her left cheek met Megatron's fist. She managed to hold her ground, but stepped back from the angered tyrant anyway.

"That girl is just trouble."

"You can't decide my friends."

Megatron grabbed her by the hair and lifted her two feet to his optic level, "I can and I will. You will not socialize with that girl what so ever. Do you understand me?"

"You don't even know her."

"She made you get a piercing."

"That was Brittany."

"And her."

"Why are you so concerned?" Mercy asked thinking her metallic skin was going to be ripped off her head.

"I don't want you getting in trouble with your teachers, or principal, or the police, or anyone. The last thing we need is them showing up here."

"Why would they come here?" Mercy asked.

"They'd find reasons," Megatron answered, "Now do you understand?"

"Yes," Mercy hissed through pain and Megatron set her down. The girl glared at him then walked by him and to her room.

**_"Don't forget to take that miserable thing out of your tongue."_**

Megatron didn't get a response and thus satisfied himself by thinking about how he would kill Optimus Prime…and Mercy.

* * *

Whew, another long chapter. Not as long as the last one but still pretty long. Please review!!


	6. Hydrophobia

Yeah I know, it's been a few days since I last updated this one. I was writing the chapter in a notebook, and it took me forever not because I had writer's block, but because the chapter was really long. So I apologize.

* * *

**Chapter Six: Hydrophobia**

_"Mercy!" her mother called, "Hurry up and get dressed, your father's taking us to the beach."_

_A seven-year-old Mercy quickly went to her room, put on her swimsuit, and put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt to go over it. She then went back out to the kitchen where her mother was waiting. Taking Mercy by the hand, her mother walked with her out to the car where her father was waiting._

_Mercy climbed in the car and buckled herself in. Her father then drove the hour-long drive to one of the many beaches along the great Lake Ontario. Her parents had promised to teach her how to swim, and the little girl was extremely excited._

_Once they got to the beach, the family claimed a picnic table and set up their beach umbrella and laid out their towels._

"_Ready to swim?" Mercy's father asked after they finished setting up their things._

_The little girl nodded and her parents led her out to the water. Mercy stuck her foot in the water and discovered it wasn't too cold. Thus, the girl waded out into the lake following her parents. Once Mercy was chest deep in the water, her father went to show her a stroke. The little girl went to try it, but tripped and was sucked underwater._

_Her body was scraped against zebra mussels and through seaweed as a current caught her and started pulling her out deeper. Mercy could feel her cut and bleeding body being slowly suffocated. She groped for the surface, but her hands never left the water. She tried calling for help, but her mouth was filled with water instead. __She felt her lungs giving out and her strength leaving her. _

_Unable to try and reach for the surface again, Mercy gave up allowing herself to be consumed by the great body of water._

* * *

Mercy jumped awake and sat bolt upright in her bed. She was clutching her throat and gasping for breath. Cold sweat ran down her face causing the android to shiver. Glancing over at the clock, she saw it was 3:32am. Megatron was snoring softly from the couch and knowing he was sound asleep, Mercy left the room.

The girl went out to the living room and sat down in the center of the couch. She curled herself into a ball and sat there trying to calm herself down. The images of the dream kept playing back in her mind though, and scared her even more.

"What's wrong Mercy?"

Mercy looked up to see Megatron standing before her, the moonlight silhouetting his dark figure. She hadn't even heard him come out and he had startled her.

"N-Nothing, I-I'm fine," Mercy stammered.

"I'm not convinced. Now pull yourself together and get back to bed."

"Why is it so important that I rest?"

"The more rest you get, the more energy you give off during the day," Megatron explained, "Now go."

"Can I just stay here for a few more minutes?" Mercy asked.

"What happened?"

"I had a bad dream."

Megatron muttered something inaudible and sat down to the left of her on the couch and sighed, "It was just a dream, don't worry about it. Come up with a happy ending to it and go back to bed."

"Just how am I supposed to come up with a happy ending for death?"

"Who died?"

"I did."

"How?"

"I drowned."

Megatron laughed, "Oh Mercy, you're an android now, you don't need to breathe unless you want to."

"I'm afraid of water."

"You coward, did you not hear what I just said?"

"I did, but how come I still breathe without even realizing I am?"

"It must be a reflex, trust me on this Mercy, now go back to bed," he remarked glancing over at her, "Hold on a minute."

"What?"

"Just hold still," Megatron said taking hold of her jaw with one of his powerful hands. He then touched her left cheek.

"Ouch, stop it!"

"I guess I punched you pretty hard, that's a pretty nasty bruise you got there."

"Let go of me," Mercy stated twisting out of his grasp.

"Go back to bed," Megatron ordered giving her a little push.

Mercy got up and returned to her room. Megatron watched as she disappeared into her bedroom. "I don't think I've met anyone as pathetic as her," he exclaimed stretching and lying down on the couch not bothering to return to the sofa in Mercy's room.

* * *

The next morning Mercy got up and got ready. She was just about to grab her backpack when she stopped and examined her cheek in the mirror. The bruise wasn't that big, but it was a deep purple against her white skin.

Megatron came up behind her suddenly saying, "I don't think you should go to school with that."

"I have to."

"Why?"

"If I don't go to school, someone calls home to see where I am, then the next day I have to have a written excuse from a parent saying why I didn't go to school," Mercy explained.

"I could pose as your legal guardian," Megatron suggested.

"No, I'd rather you not."

"Just what are you going to tell people when they ask about it?"

"I'll think of something," Mercy stated turning from the mirror and grabbing her backpack.

"You better," Megatron remarked and followed her out of the door turning invisible.

* * *

Mercy walked up the stairs to get to her locker, only to discover Brenna standing next to it. The android paused for a moment and then went over to her locker and started doing her lock combination.

"Hey LeCroix," Brenna stated obviously not noticing the bruise.

Mercy managed to open her locker and glanced at Brenna saying, "Wouldn't you rather be talking with Brittany?"

"Whoa, cut the harshness LeCroix. And if I wanted to hang with Brittany, I would be over with her right now," Brenna explained, "So LeCroix, are you wearing your piercing?"

"No,"

"Why not?"

"I don't want to, it's rather distracting."

"You'll get used to it."

"I'm sorry Brenna, but I'm not wearing it," Mercy exclaimed shutting her locker.

"You're rather uptight today, what's up?"

"It's nothing, honestly."

"Oh, so there is something?"

Mercy felt cornered, "No there's nothing wrong. Just leave me alone Brenna."

Brenna changed the topic suddenly; "We have swim class today instead of gym. Is that any fun?"

"Oh I forgot about that, shoot."

"Did you forget your swimsuit?"

"No, I have one in my gym locker. It's just that I hate swimming."

"How come? All you do is float around."

"I don't know how to swim."

Brenna looked extremely surprised, "How can you not know how to swim?"

"I never had a chance to learn."

"How deep is the pool?"

"Twelve feet in one end, and four feet at the other."

"So just stay in the shallow end."

"I'll try, but Coach Hill expects me to know how to swim by now."

"Coach Hill or no Coach Hill, if you can't swim LeCroix, he won't make you."

"You obviously don't know him then," Mercy said heading towards homeroom.

_**"I told you not to socialize with her."**_

_"I know, but I didn't listen."_

**_"Mercy, you better listen to me unless you want another bruise on your other cheek to match the one you have now."_**

_"You really think I'm going to listen to you when you keep threatening me?" _

**_"I advise you not get yourself any deeper into this mess."_**

"Well, don't worry about it," Brenna remarked suddenly falling into step with Mercy.

"I'm not worried," Mercy explained, "I don't let myself worry about anything."

"Nothing? What if your parents stopped giving you money or something?"

"Then I'll get a job."

"Minimum wage isn't going to be enough LeCroix, you should start worrying about a few things."

"What's it matter?"

"LeCroix, you better change your attitude or else I'll tell someone that you're living on your own."

"You shouldn't care so much about me Brenna, why don't you just leave me alone? It'd be best for the both of us."

**_"That's it Mercy, drive her away."_**

"Maybe for me, but not for you. Face it LeCroix, you need me."

"My sources tell me you're nothing but trouble."

"And who are your sources?"

"That's a secret."

"Well your sources are wrong. I like to have fun, and you look like you need some of that," Brenna explained.

"Leave me alone."

"Did yesterday never happen?"

"You are the one who wanted to be my friend Brenna, you are the one who said I wasn't that bad of a person, and I am the one who told you that you don't really know me. Now don't you wish you kept things that way?"

Brenna glared at her and walked away. Mercy sat down in her seat in homeroom thinking, _"Jeez Megatron you were so worried. Brenna didn't say a thing about the bruise."_

**_"A rather interesting thing you should say considering what just happened."_**

_"I have a feeling that I didn't drive Brenna away for good."_

_**"We'll see, but Mercy?"**_

_"What?" _

**_"I'm interested to know if you're actually going to go to swim class."_**

_"I have to unless I want to make it up later." _

**_"I see."_**

_"Just do me a favor and stay out of the locker room while the other girls and I are changing."_

**_"...Right."_**

* * *

Brenna avoided Mercy during the rest of homeroom and all of first period. Second period came all too quickly for the android though as she reported to the locker room and changed into her swimsuit. Grabbing a towel, she followed the rest of the class to the pool. Mercy had just settled herself on the bench when Brenna suddenly sat down next to her.

"Looking for an apology?" Mercy asked

"No. As of now, homeroom never happened."

"If you say so."

Coach Hill began taking attendance and the class went silent. When he got to Mercy's name, he smirked and said, "Ah Mercy, you can join the rest of us in the deep end today."

"Coach Hill?" Brenna suddenly spoke up, "How about I stay down in the shallow end and teach Mercy how to swim?"

"No, if she wants to live, she'll learn how to swim on her own today."

"You know you can be reported for this," Brenna explained.

"Oh are you suddenly Mercy's mouth now?" Coach Hill asked.

"No, she just knows the meaning of the work friend," Mercy exclaimed.

"Oh really?" Coach Hill remarked, "Get in that pool now Miss LeCroix, and do five laps. You better have one done by the time I finish taking attendance or that will be an after school detention."

**_"I've had enough of your coach. Get up Mercy, and do exactly as I say."_**

Mercy got up from the bench, _"Now what?"_

**_"Go over to the side of the pool and ask for your coach."_**

"_Alright,"_ Mercy responded going over to the side of the pool. "Hey Coach Hill?" she asked.

"What?" the coach demanded turning towards her. As he turned, his foot connected with some unknown object causing him to trip and fall into the pool.

"_Nice one Megatron,"_ Mercy thought with a smile on her face.

**_"He had it coming to him. Only one person can boss you around and insult you, and that's me."_**

Mercy rolled her eyes as the rest of the girls chuckled at the sight of their gym teacher, that is until Coach Hill surfaced coughing and sputtering for help. It turned out that he didn't know how to swim either.

**_"Ah, this could work to our advantage. Rescue him Mercy."_**

_"Can't we just let him drown?"_

_**"Wouldn't you rather burn him?"**_

_"Good point, but how am I supposed to rescue him if I can't swim?"_

**_"Just get in the water."_**

_"But I— _

**_"Get in!"_**

Reluctantly, Mercy eased herself into the water clinging tightly to the wall of the pool as she did so. Summoning all her will power, the android extended her arm reaching for her coach. Her coach seized her hand and ripped her from the wall suddenly.

"This is all your fault!" he shouted punching Mercy in the face and shoving her underwater.

It was quite apparent at that moment that Coach Hill had been pretending to drown and really knew how to swim. It was also apparent that the full potential of his anger had been unleashed. Afraid of their coach, no one dared to jump in and help Mercy. No one noticed Brenna run out of the pool room.

* * *

Brenna Meyers, though wearing nothing but a swimsuit, ran through an empty hallway to the high school office. The secretary glanced at her before asking, "Is there a problem miss?"

"Yes! Coach Hill fell in the pool and when one of the students went to help him, he started drowning her!" Brenna shouted nearly breathless.

Mr. Cushiant heard her and came out of his office, "Are you sure?"

"I ran all the way down here in a swimsuit, do you think I'm lying?"

Mr. Cushiant turned to the secretary, "Call the vice principal and the superintendent, Brenna, let's go."

Ignoring the rule of no running in the halls, Brenna and Mr. Cushiant sprinted to the pool.

* * *

It was almost like in Mercy's dream. Water filled her mouth, she groped madly for the surface but couldn't find it, and her body was being beaten. Yes her body was stronger, but it could only take so much. Mercy tried to fight back, but the water slowed her attacks so that they were equivalent to nothing.

_"Megatron help me."_

**_"I can't Mercy; there are too many people around. They'll suspect something."_**

_"Sure, but if I live through this you owe me big time." _

**_"Why would I owe you anything? You've had this coming to you."_**

_"I'm saving your life, but you can't save mine?" _

**_"You're not dying Mercy."_**

At that moment Brenna and Mr. Cushiant burst into the room. Going over to the side of the pool where Coach Hill and Mercy were at, he bellowed, "I demand you let go of Mercy at once and get out of the pool."

Realizing he was caught, Coach Hill abandoned Mercy and got out of the pool. Brenna dove in and helped her friend out of the water. Taking Mercy's towel, Brenna wrapped it around her friend's shoulders just as Mr. Forde, the high school vice principal, and Mr. Clarkson, the superintendent, entered the room.

"Mr. Hill," Mr. Clarkson exclaimed coming into the room, "I don't know what in the world possessed you to try and a drown a student. Nonetheless, I have contacted authorities and they are on their way."

Coach Hill sat down on the bench, "I had every right to, that demon, that psychopathic witch you call Mercy LeCroix does not deserve to live!"

"She thought you were drowning so she jumped in to save you even though she doesn't know how to swim!" Brenna declared coming to Mercy's defense once again.

"Brenna, you and Mercy go get changed then head over to the health clinic so Mercy can get checked out. Mercy, if you wish you may go home. As for the rest of you girls, go get changed as well. Then stay in the locker room until the bell rings," Mr. Clarkson ordered.

The swim class returned to the locker room and changed into their clothes. Once Mercy and Brenna had finished changing, the two headed for the health clinic.

"Are you alright LeCroix? If that man hurt you then—

"I'm fine."

"That's a nasty bruise he gave you. Are you sure you're alright?"

"You better not keep asking that, and yes, I'm sure."

"If you say so, I'm just curious to know what the doctors in the health clinic say."

"I'm not going."

"Not going? Of course you're going."

"No Brenna, I don't need to. Can you just take me home instead?"

"I don't know, we might get caught."

"It's a three second drive to my house, please Brenna."

Brenna glanced around, "Alright. C'mon, let's go."

The girls exited the school and got inside Brenna's red SUV just as the police arrived. As soon as the police went into the building, Brenna pulled out of the school parking lot and Mercy directed her to her home.

Mercy climbed out once Brenna stopped safely in the driveway. Sticking her head out of a rolled down window, Brenna called, "If you start feeling worse, go to the hospital. I'll be back after school to check on you okay?"

"No Brenna, you don't need to, and thanks for the ride."

"Any time LeCroix, you know you should come over to my house sometime."

"Tomorrow, after school."

"Really? Okay then it's a date. See you later LeCroix," Brenna exclaimed bringing her head back through the open window, shut it, and then backed out of the driveway and headed back to school.

Mercy didn't go inside and instead went out to her backyard where she stood looking at the forest. Images of what Coach Hill did to her flashed through her mind. Angrily she grabbed a handful of snow and threw it towards the forest.

"I'll burn you all," she cried, "I hate water; solid, liquid, or gas I hate it!"

No one heard her and Mercy went into her home where it was safe, warm, and dry. Lying down on the couch in the living room, she stared at the ceiling wondering what tomorrow was going to be like when her teacher had tried to kill her today.

_**"Where are you Mercy?"**_

_"Home."_

_**"What do you mean home?"**_

_"Mr. Clarkson said I could go home, so I went home."_

**_"Just how did you get back so fast? You couldn't have walked."_**

_"Brenna gave me a ride."_

_**"Mercy! I told you not to let her know where you live! Why can't you listen to me?"**_

_"Do you have no sympathy at all? My teacher tried to kill me!"_

**_"He wouldn't have succeeded even if Brenna hadn't gone for help. Now we'll finish this once I get back."_**

Mercy didn't say anything and tried to fall asleep. It seemed like she had just closed her eyes when suddenly someone grabbed her by the shirt collar and lifted her off the couch.

"Megatron," she mumbled still half asleep.

"I've had about enough of you not listening to me."

"Megatron I'm sorry," Mercy stated regaining full consciousness.

"No you're not."

"Why do you hate Brenna so? Just what has she done to make you hate her like this?"

"I don't trust her, and if she ever shows up here, I will not let you let her in. Do I make myself clear?"

"You didn't answer my question!"

Megatron went to slap her when suddenly there was a single blare from a police car siren. It was brief and piercing, and both Mercy and Megatron looked to the living room window.

"Oh Primus, just what we need," Megatron exclaimed watching as a police officer got out of his car and stared walking towards the house.

"Don't worry, I'm not in trouble," Mercy stated as Megatron went invisible.

Going over to the door, Mercy let the police officer in before he had to knock. Being gracious, Mercy offered him a seat at the kitchen table.

Once settled he asked, "Are you Mercy LeCroix?"

"Yes."

"I'm Officer Jackson of the New York State police. Would you mind if I asked you some question about Mr. Hill's actions towards you this morning?"

"No, not at all."

"First of all," the officer began taking out a pad of paper and a pen, "What happened when you entered the pool room?"

_"Oh good grief, this is going to take forever."_

**_"Don't keep him waiting Mercy."_**

"I sat down with the rest of the class on the bench and Coach Hill started taking attendance."

"How would you describe his mood?"

"Bored."

"Okay. What happened next?"

Mercy then explained the rest of the events that transpired, explaining each in full detail so the officer wouldn't have to ask so many questions. They then switched topics.

"Let me see your face so I can write down any injuries."

Reluctantly Mercy looked at him dead on, _"Tell me what he's writing."_

_**"Bruise on left cheek, bit of a swollen nose—** _

_"My nose is not swollen."_

**_"Just go with it."_**

_"He's still writing." _

**_"Let's see…he's not writing down your so-called injuries anymore, just a couple more notes."_**

"Well Miss LeCroix, thank you for your time. Now, someone from the station will be calling this evening to talk to one of your parents about this situation. Enjoy your afternoon," Officer Jackson said in a rather monotone and boring voice and then left.

Once he had driven away, Megatron reappeared, "I don't like this."

"You're the one who told me to get into the pool."

Megatron shot a glare at her and then said, "I'll pose as your father so there's nothing to worry about."

"Okay…I'm going back to sleep," Mercy replied yawning and went back over to the couch.

* * *

Mercy sat by the window in her room that night thinking about the possible situations her peers might put her in the next day. Would they respect her? Would they view her as a coward for going home? Or would they just go on as if nothing had happened at all?

Megatron had done a good job posing as her father. He actually sounded like he cared about the android for once, but Mercy knew it was just an act to get the police to perhaps leave her alone. And Brenna didn't stop by once school had ended, either she had forgotten to, or she actually listened to Mercy for once.

"Go to bed Mercy," Megatron suddenly said from his spot on the sofa.

Mercy had forgotten he was there, but being tired she slipped beneath the covers of her bed. A thought struck her suddenly Megatron turned off the light and went to leave the room.

"Megatron," she piped up.

"What is it now?" he asked rather impatiently.

"Is it true what Coach Hill said? Do you think I'm a psychopath?"

"Well, I've had my own suspicions about you being one, but there's one major clue that you really haven't given yet."

"And what's that?"

"I'll let you know if I ever see it. Now good night," Megatron stated walking out of the room and going to the living room where he settle himself on the couch, "How ironic it would be if Mercy turned out to be a psychopath just like me."

* * *

And so ends this chapter. Another long one, but anyways, reviews would greatly be appreciated!


	7. Rock a Bye Baby

Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, it keeps my hopes up on the story. So, don't stop and I won't either. Anyways, here's the next chapter.

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Rock a Bye Baby**

Mercy knew she had a lot of things on her mind, and that was one of the reasons why she was having trouble falling asleep. She had gone to bed at 9:30pm, expected to be asleep at 10:30pm, but was still awake and it was 11:36pm. Rolling over on to her back, Mercy replayed the events of that day through her mind for what seemed like the millionth time. She was sick of it now, and got out of bed then made her way to the living room.

The android walked over to the couch that Megatron was lying on and saw his blue optics were softly glowing. This let Mercy know that he was still awake. "Go to bed Mercy," he stated before she could say anything.

"I can't get to sleep."

"Then stop thinking. You're not going to fall asleep with a restless mind."

"I've tried already."

"Are you tired?" Megatron asked.

"Yes."

"Then go back to bed and wait for sleep to come."

"I've been waiting for sleep to come ever since I went to bed."

"What are you reverting back to your childish ways now? What did you do in the past when your parents were still here?"

"I'd go in my parents room and I'd go over to my mom and tell her I couldn't sleep," Mercy explained.

"And what would she do?"

"She'd sing me a lullaby."

Megatron snickered, "Oh, so you expect me to sing for you now? How about I go find a titanium mallet and I knock you out with that?"

Mercy looked at him a moment and then said softly, "Would it really kill you to be nice to me for once?"

"You really think I'm going to sing you a lullaby?" Grow up you pathetic _android_ and go back to bed. Don't bother me for the rest of the night."

Mercy glared at him and went back to bed. She snuggled under her covers and buried her head in her pillow trying desperately to fall asleep.

* * *

It was faint at first, but Megatron heard it. He realized that Mercy had either forgotten to close her telepathic link again, or else she was doing this on purpose. But Megatron could hear Mercy as she sung a lullaby in her head.

_"Rock-a-bye baby in the tree top, when the wind blows the cradle will rock. When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall, and down will come baby cradle and all."_

Megatron was a bit stunned mothers actually sang that song to their children. The only impression he had gotten from it was death.

* * *

Mercy woke up the next morning and got up from the bed. She went over to the mirror only to see her bruise was gone and her pale skin was back to normal. The android then remembered she was going to Brenna's house after school. While she got ready, Mercy tried to think of a reasonable excuse to give to Megatron.

Completely dressed, hair and teeth brushed, Mercy sat down at the kitchen table sipping a bottle of unleaded oil. She thought the oil tasted kind of like a flat coca-cola, which was kind of disgusting, but the flavor rather soothed her. Megatron was still asleep on the couch, but Mercy knew he would wake up at any moment now.

Mercy suddenly heard him yawn and knew the decepticon leader was awake. Sighing, she glanced out the window. It was a few weeks until spring, and Mercy could hardly wait. She hated winter, she hated everything about it.

"Did you get any sleep last night?" Megatron asked stretching as he came into the kitchen.

"Yes. You look pretty tired yourself though," Mercy said observing him.

"I'm just sick of sleeping on a couch," Megatron remarked, "I get your bed tonight."

"Why don't you take my parents bed? It's bigger than my bed and besides, it's been years since anyone's slept in it."

"Were you conceived in that bed?" Megatron inquired placing his hands on the table.

"No, I was conceived when my parents got drunk and did it right here on the kitchen table."

Megatron grimaced and removed his hands, "That's disgusting."

"I was kidding, I don't knew where the hell I was conceived, all I know is that my parents where drunk."

Megatron frowned and sat down in a chair across the table from Mercy. The android glanced over at her unleaded oil that was only half drunk and pushed it over to him saying, "You can have the rest, I don't want anymore."

"There's something bothering you Mercy," Megatron stated.

"No there isn't."

Megatron fingered the half empty bottle of unleaded oil. He then glanced up at her saying, "You're lying to me Mercy."

"Stop jumping to conclusions, I need to pick up a couple things at the store after school today," Mercy explained.

"What things?" Megatron questioned suspicious.

"I need more under garments if you must know," Mercy stated, "It would be nice if you…didn't come."

Megatron took a sip of the drink, "And why not?"

"I just don't want you to, but if you must, meet my by the Post Office after school," Mercy said.

"Alright then it's a date," Megatron replied using the same words that Brenna had.

"I don't even want to imagine myself dating you."

The decepticon leader smirked, "You don't? How come?"

"Do I really need to explain?"

Megatron took another swig of the drink before passing it back to Mercy, "Yes."

Mercy glared at him and took a couple swallows, secretly spitting into the drink and then passed it back. Megatron put the can to his lips, "I'm waiting."

"You threaten me, you hurt me, and you restrict me from my natural rights," Mercy explained, "I don't like you."

Megatron glared at her and drank the last of the oil. He grimaced suddenly and remarked, "You spit in it didn't you?"

Mercy smirked, "Guilty of charge."

Before the decepticon leader could say anything, Mercy got up and got her backpack. She returned to the table with it and suddenly began taking papers out. Megatron watched Mercy neatly stack quite a few crumpled papers and then throw them away. Her backpack was now empty, minus a couple books and a folder. She then took out a piece of lined paper and a pen and handed them over to Megatron. "I need you to do me a favor," she said.

"What sort of favor?"

"Write a note, explaining your frustrations with the school."

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to need some sort of entertainment, I don't like to be bored when I'm called to Mr. Cushiant's office."

"Whoever said you're going to be called to his office?" Megatron questioned looking at the blank paper before him and taking the pen in his hand.

"I'm expecting it after what happened yesterday, c'mon, I know you want something to laugh about, just write whatever, you've been through the school long enough."

Megatron couldn't hide a small grin, "I suppose you're right." He thought about what to write for a moment and then began.

_To Whom It May Concern:_

_After the events of yesterday, I must say that your school safety system needs a change. Through a few secret inspections of the school I've noticed that you have metal detectors and fire alarms. I've also noticed that you do not bother to check the metal detectors when their alarms go off. Why bother even having them there at all?_

_And I've seen that you spend most of your money and time on trying to protect the students from potential harm that they may inflict upon each other. I noticed that you hardly ever monitor the teachers who could very likely be planning something such as Mr. Hill. _

_Speaking of teachers, I've seen that a number of them are rather perverted. Mostly male teachers, one a principal who's name I will not disclose in this letter, but I'm quite certain you know who._

_Finally, I think it's about time the interior of the school was repainted. Faded yellow, green, and tan are rather…difficult…to stomach. You're lucky I'm not going to sue you for Mr. Hill's actions against my dearest Mercy. _

_Mr. M. T. LeCroix_

Megatron handed the letter over to Mercy who read it and said, "That's perfect. Though I wouldn't consider myself your dearest."

The decepticon leader frowned, "And I hope you never do consider it."

Mercy rolled her eyes, "Why don't you go back to sleep and wake up on the correct side of the couch?"

Megatron glared at Mercy who glared right on back. She then folded the letter and put it in her folder, which she put in her backpack. It was still a few minutes before Mercy had to leave. Megatron broke the silence by saying; "I want you to stay away from Brenna today."

"She saved my life and you still don't like her?"

"You weren't dying Mercy, I'm sick of telling you that."

"Well still, she thought I was dying, and no one else did anything to help me out of that situation," Mercy explained.

"I did."

"You very graciously helped me into it," she stated and got up from the table. Putting on her backpack she made her way over to the door.

"Isn't it a little early for you to be leaving?" Megatron asked turning to face her from the chair he was sitting in.

"The sooner I get out of this house, the sooner I can stop having to look at you."

Megatron smirked, "Good point." He got up from the chair and followed Mercy out the door.

* * *

Mercy met Brenna at her locker again. The android wasn't quite sure why but it made her feel good having someone who cared about her when the 5, 999,999,999 billion other people in the world didn't. Mercy strode up to her locker eager to meet with Brenna.

"Morning LeCroix," Brenna exclaimed grinning, "Are we still set for after school today?"

Mercy frowned suddenly realizing that Brenna could easily give out her secret. She then softly smiled and answered, "Yes."

_**"What is she talking about Mercy?"**_

"_Oops, did I forget to mention she's coming too?"_

**_"Mercy…just why would she need to come to the store when you're buying under garments?"_**

_"She's paying for them, I don't have any spare money."_

**_"We'll talk about this later Mercy."_**

"So how are you this morning after what happened yesterday?" Brenna inquired as Mercy took the books she needed out of her locker, "I see your bruise is gone."

"I'm fine Brenna. I was fine yesterday, just a little unnerved," Mercy explained, "I never thanked you for helping me yesterday so thanks."

**_"Stop with the mushy crap already."_**

_"Jealous?"_

**_"Hardly."_**

"You don't need to thank me," Brenna stated, "You would've done the same thing for me, right?"

"Well, if you weren't drowning, then yes."

Brenna grinned rolling her eyes and Mercy shut her locker. The two girls headed for homeroom and once they got there, they went to their seats.

"Ah Mercy. Mr. Cushiant called a few minutes ago, he would like to see you down in his office," the teacher exclaimed.

"Would he now?" Mercy retorted causing Brenna to giggle.

"See you later LeCroix," Brenna called.

Mercy grabbed her books and left the room. She made her way downstairs to where the high school office was. The android entered ignoring the secretary and went straight into Mr. Cushiant's office. The man looked up at her as she came in and said, "Good morning Mercy, please do have a seat."

Mercy glanced around, "In what chair?"

**_"Go for his lap."_**

_"Pervert."_

"Oh right, the custodians are getting the new ones," Mr. Cushiant explained, "Sorry Mercy."

"It's alright."

"So how are you after yesterday?"

**_"Toy with him."_**

"Emotionally scarred, sore, afraid, and a bit traumatized. At least that's what my doctor said," Mercy lied, "What did you expect after one of your employees tried to drown me?"

His cheeks flushed and he quickly said, "My deepest apologies of course Mercy. Coach Hill has been fired and he's in jail."

"Where he belongs."

"Right. Are your parents handling this alright?"

"My dad wrote you a note," Mercy remarked taking out the note and handing it to the principal who read it and flushed even more.

"W-When did he come to inspect the school?" Mr. Cushiant questioned.

"I don't know, he won't tell me."

"Perhaps I can meet with him so we can discuss this face to face."

"He left this morning for a business trip, he won't be back for a month. And before you ask, my mother wants nothing to do with this. She walked out on my father and me a few years back and is living in California," Mercy lied again.

"So you're alone for the next month?"

"My grandpa is looking after me."

**_"Grandpa? I'm insulted Mercy."_**

_"Good."_

"I see, well Mercy when your father is home let me know so we can arrange a meeting together. You may return to class now," Mr. Cushiant exclaimed.

Mercy exited his office just as the bell rang. She headed to the chemistry room glad to be out of Mr. Cushiant's office.

* * *

Mercy was glad when the school day was finally over. As planned, the android went to her locker where Brenna met her.

"You ready to go?" Brenna asked.

"Yes," Mercy answered closing her locker door, _"Megatron, are you at the Post Office yet?"_

**_"Nearly. Mercy, if you don't show, you will be severely punished."_**

_"Thank you."_

_**"For what?"**_

Mercy didn't answer and that's when Megatron became highly suspicious of the android. He would give her fifteen minutes to show and then she was in for it. Megatron was pretty sure Mercy wasn't going to make an appearance and he knew by the time he got back to the school he would be unable to locate the android.

Mercy left the school with Brenna and together they walked out to her car. The two girls got in and once buckled up, Brenna started driving towards her home. Mercy was praying that they didn't have to drive by the Post Office, and luckily they didn't. It was about a five-minute drive, Brenna lived just outside of town in a very nice home.

Getting out of the car, Mercy gawked at Brenna's home. Brenna noticed and chuckled saying, "It's just a house LeCroix."

"Did I befriend a millionaire?" Mercy questioned.

"No, my parents are both doctors,"

"Oh, so they have money."

Brenna rolled her eyes saying, "Let's just go in."

Mercy nodded and followed Brenna into the house. When the android entered, she was hit by a blast of friendly warm air and the smell of strawberries. Mercy sighed relishing in the heavenly atmosphere. Brenna noticed and dragged Mercy into the kitchen.

"I don't know about you, but I'm hungry," Brenna exclaimed, "I'm going to order a pizza, is there anything you would like on it?"

"I'm not hungry," Mercy stated.

"You don't eat lunch, you don't eat dinner, and Lord knows if you eat breakfast, do you eat at all?"

"Yes Brenna."

"Well, I'll make you eat this pizza even if I have to force feed it to you."

"No, I'm not hungry."

Brenna waved her off and called the pizza place where she ordered a small pepperoni pizza. She then hung up the phone and turned to Mercy saying, "Why don't you ever eat?"

"I do eat, just not in front of other people," Mercy said knowing that was a lame excuse.

"Okay, what do you eat?"

"Unleaded oil," Mercy answered and then quickly covered her mouth.

Brenna stared at her and then remarked, "From the way you reacted when you said that, I have a feeling that you really do _drink_ that stuff."

Mercy sat down in a chair and tried to avoid eye contact with Brenna. "Perhaps I should have told you before you ordered the pizza," the android replied.

"Why…how do you drink that stuff without dying?" Brenna inquired.

"I'm not human…not anymore. Look Brenna, I can't have you telling anyone about this," Mercy explained.

"No worries, I don't think anyone would believe me. Now what do you mean you're not human anymore?"

"Several weeks ago a voice suddenly entered my head wanting me to help it. I don't where it came from, it was just one day I heard it. So either last week or the week before, I don't remember, I actually asked the voice what it wanted. And it answered saying it was an evil spirit wanting to be resurrected. It threatened me into agreeing to help it," Mercy said.

Brenna nodded saying, "Okay I'm hooked, what happened next?"

"It came to me…a robotic ghost two feet taller than me. He just appeared out of nowhere and electrocuted me with something that turned me into this. Brenna, my hair used to be auburn, my eyes used to be hazel. Overnight I turned into this…an android."

"Does this robotic ghost have a name?"

"Megatron."

"Interesting. Is he mean to you?"

"He tends to beat me on a daily basis, and he follows me everywhere. He can turn invisible and Brenna, he does not like you at all."

Brenna frowned, "Is he here now?"

"No, he's not. I managed to evade him, but it's not going to be long before he finds out."

"This is kind of hard to believe LeCroix."

"Here," Mercy said, "This is what Megatron looks like." Mercy shut her eyes and concentrated on an image of Megatron. She decided to try something she had never done before and hoped to God that this would work so she could convince Brenna. She sighed and when she opened her eyes, a life sized holographic image of the decepticon leader was projected from her eyes. It had worked.

"Holy Jesus," Brenna exclaimed amazed and stunned by what Mercy was doing, "That's M-Megatron?"

"You bet," Mercy responded and then blinked destroying the holographic image.

**_"Mercy, I demand to know where you are this instant."_**

_"Brenna's house." _

**_"What?! Mercy, you're as good as dead when you get home. You better not have done anything stupid."_**

_"Like what? Telling Brenna everything that's going on?" _

**_"Yes."_**

_"Too late." _

**_"Mercy! Oh you've done it now. You better hope she doesn't believe you."_**

_"She believes me. So, you can go home now, I'll be home later…maybe."_

_**"You better come home or else."**_

Mercy didn't reply and looked over at Brenna who was still stunned. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. "That must be that pizza," Brenna stated, "Though they got the pizza ready awfully quick." She shrugged it off and disappeared around the corner to answer the door.

The android listened as the door opened and heard Brenna suddenly gasp as if frightened. She then heard a sinister laugh and then a male voice as it exclaimed, "It's good to see you again, my dearest _Brenna_."

* * *

Wow, another chapter over three thousand words. That's got to be a record for me. Well, hope you guys liked this chapter and please, please review!!


	8. Goodbye My Friend

As always, thanks to those of you who reviewed. I know I'm mean and I don't often reply, but your reviews really do mean a lot to me. Well, I couldn't wait to put this chapter down to paper, it had been wanting out of my head for a long time now.

* * *

**Chapter Eight: Goodbye My Friend**

Mercy got a feeling in the pit of her stomach that something bad was going to happen. She knew whoever that guy was that he wasn't supposed to be here. Not sure what else to do, the android continued to listen.

"Get out of here now," Brenna stated in an extremely stern voice.

"Come on baby, it's been a few days since I've last seen you. Can't we catch up?"

Mercy realized that the man was most likely Brenna's stalker and that he had somehow found her here in New York. The android got up and quickly went to her friend's aid. She was horrified to see a man dressed completely in black with a black ski mask on and with a gun in his hand. The ski mask had an opening for each of his eyes and his mouth.

The man looked up seeing Mercy and grinned, "Oh Brenna…I like the looks of your friend."

"Leave her alone," Brenna exclaimed.

The man waved the gun threateningly at her and said, "Let me in baby, or else."

With no other choice, Brenna backed into the living room. The man entered shutting the door as he came in, and looked to Mercy saying, "Be a good little girl and go sit over on the couch while daddy deals with Brenna."

Mercy didn't move and Brenna started to panic, "Mercy, do it!"

The android glanced at Brenna and then went over and sat on the couch. She considered notifying Megatron, but then thought better of it. He'd offer no help, and after what he had done to "help" her during swim class yesterday he'd probably only end up putting Brenna and her into a worse predicament.

"Brenna, I must say that you've runaway from me for the last time. I'm sick of you rejecting me. Now, you either choose me now, or you die," the man threatened.

"You don't need to be heroic on this Brenna," Mercy piped up though she was extremely terrified.

"You know what Brenna, hold that thought. I think I'll torture your friend for a few minutes because I just can't resist her anymore," the masked man stated and headed over towards Mercy.

_"What a pervert."_

_**"Excuse me Mercy? Is something happening that I should know about?"**_

Mercy didn't answer as she watched the man slink towards her. The android stood up from the couch attempting to move away from him. He pointed his gun at Mercy saying, "Sit back down."

"Leave her alone," Brenna exclaimed again, "She's got nothing to do with this. If it's me you want, then come after me. Leave Mercy alone."

Mercy was kind of surprised to hear Brenna saying her first name for once but shrugged it off. The man stopped his approach and walked back to Brenna. He ceased his advance once he was standing inches away from her and cupped her face with his free hand. Brenna looked absolutely terrified when she felt him press the gun directly against her abdomen.

"I may be seven years older than you, but who really cares?" he said and proceeded to kiss Brenna deeply.

Mercy felt sick, she felt her face twist with disgust and horror as she watched the perverted man kiss Brenna. The android could tell from Brenna's face that she was just as disgusted and sickened as her. After a few moments the man pulled away and asked, "What's your answer Brenna?"

"No."

Mercy jumped when she heard the gun fire. As if in slow motion Brenna's body fell backwards onto the white carpet of the living room floor. Blood began to pool around her and Mercy thought for sure Brenna was dead. She looked to the man who grinned and turned to her. His shirt had spatters of blood on it though he didn't seem to mind. The android felt fire begin to pulse through her circuits.

"Now Mercy, I honestly do not care Brenna refused me, I really am starting to like you much better anyway. So what do you say?"

"You shot Brenna."

The man laughed and Mercy felt the burning sensation in her circuits begin to increase tenfold.

"She had it coming to her," explained the man, "Don't tell me you want the same fate beautiful."

"No," Mercy said in a voice full of bloodlust, a voice she did not know she possessed, "You evil…sick man!"

He laughed again and Mercy felt the burning within her explode. She glanced down at her hands only to see they were engulfed in flames, but there was no pain. She really was going to burn someone, and it was going to be the man before her.

Mercy watched as the man dropped the gun in surprise. She quickly started advancing towards him. The now terrified man ran out of the house and the android went to pursue him until she heard Brenna's weak voice say, "Mercy."

The fire went out on her hands and Mercy quickly went to Brenna's aid. Mercy nearly gagged at the amount of blood their was pooled about her dying friend. Brenna reached out to Mercy running a blood soaked hand down the android's shirt. "I'm sorry Mercy," she whispered, her chest rising and falling heavily.

"This isn't your fault, nothing ever was."

"I…hope they don't…blame you for this crime."

"You'll be okay Brenna. Just tell me who that guy was."

"Travis…Travis Chase."

"I will make sure he is brought to justice. Just hang in there Brenna, everything is going to be okay."

Brenna grasped Mercy's hands with her own bloody ones, "Thanks Mercy…for being my friend."

Mercy felt tears in her eyes and said, "And thank you so much for being mine."

Brenna smiled and suddenly fell limp. Mercy's heart caught in her throat when she checked for a pulse and found nothing. The android struggled to hold back the tears as she stood and ran out of the house. She walked down the street attempting to hide the bloodstain on her shirt. It was freezing out, colder than it had been all week. Walking seemed more difficult than usual, and she was walking at a slower than normal pace.

Mercy had just started walking up her road when she heard police sirens in the distance. She knew where they were headed and suddenly she remembered she had forgotten her backpack. Groaning, Mercy quickened her pace knowing she had to get home and change her clothes quickly.

A few minutes later the android found herself walking up to her front door. For a moment she was afraid to go into her own home since she knew a _very_ angry Megatron was waiting inside. Mercy put a hand on the icy cold doorknob and slowly turned it. The door opened easily and Mercy entered her home and shut the cold world out behind her. She was in the mudroom, and she took off her shoes and examined them. To her luck, there was no blood on them. Mercy then sighed and stepped into the kitchen.

All the lights were off in the house, not one of them was on. The sky was darkening with the approach of nightfall. Mercy heard his footsteps before she saw him. The android hung her head not wanting to look at the decepticon leader. She could hear him saying I told you so and she didn't want to hear it.

Megatron stood in the kitchen a few feet back from Mercy. Her arms dangled loosely at her sides, her bangs created a dark shadow over her eyes. Silver tears streaked down her face soaking her cheeks. Megatron noticed the smeared bloody handprint on her chest and felt his mech fluids freeze. He then saw her bloodstained hands. "Oh _Primus_, Mercy! What happened?" Megatron exclaimed shocked.

"She's dead," Mercy replied softly, "Brenna's dead."

Megatron was upon her faster than what Mercy thought possible. He grabbed her by the hair and lifted the android up to his optic level. "Didn't I tell you not to stir up trouble? I told you that wretched girl was nothing but that. Why…_what_ the slagging hell possessed you to kill her?" the decepticon leader hissed with a livid fury.

"I didn't kill her," Mercy whispered afraid to raise her voice against Megatron.

"Quit lying to me _witch_," he spat back, "Is that not her blood you're wearing right now?"

"It was her stalker, Megatron, he tracked her down and when Brenna refused him he shot her—

"Lies!"

"Megatron, you have—

"How do you expect me to believe you when you just stood me up? And this wouldn't be the first time you've lied to me."

Mercy glared at Megatron and snarled, "Do you really think I would kill Brenna?"

Megatron narrowed his optics at her and threw Mercy to the floor. The android landed roughly on her back. She cringed as Megatron repeatedly kicked her in the side. His foot sliced into her metallic skin and Mercy could feel as she began to bleed and bruise. It seemed like hours had gone by before he lifted Mercy again by the hair saying, "Why wouldn't you kill Brenna? You've been wanting to kill someone ever since I met you."

"He shot her, I don't own a gun."

"You went to her home, and you know I didn't want you going there. I told you to listen to me Mercy, and did you?" he scowled.

"Megatron, I'm sorry."

"Being sorry isn't going to fix anything," exclaimed Megatron furiously as he set Mercy down and punched her in the lower lip.

Mercy stumbled back and wiped the energon flowing from her split lip. She didn't say anything; she just stared down at the floor. Her side was sore, badly bruised and bleeding, her lip wasn't any better, and her heart was mourning the loss of her only friend.

"Did you leave behind any evidence?" Megatron asked this time calmer.

"My backpack," Mercy answered. The android watched as another wave of anger coursed through the decepticon leader.

His right hand began to pulse with a blue energy charge. Mercy was too frightened to take a step back and looked on as Megatron lifted his electrified hand. Several bolts suddenly shot from his fist and hit the android dead on. She was flung backwards into the door and upon impact there was a loud crack. Megatron flinched knowing he had broke something, he just wasn't sure what.

Mercy sat there dazed for a few minutes and then slowly climbed back up to her feet. Megatron saw a large crack in the door and was rather relieved that he had broke the door and not Mercy. The decepticon leader looked Mercy over and decided that he had done enough damage. "Go get cleaned up and repair yourself. Once you're done give me that shirt and I'll dispose of it. As for you backpack, chances are the police already found it. Be ready to deal with the cops within the next twenty-four hours."

"Yes Megatron," she responded as tears threatened to spill from her eyes once again.

Megatron approached her and stopped merely inches away from her. He gently cupped her face with one hand and tilted her head back so she was forced to look up at him. Mercy felt her heart beat increase as he took a lock of her hair and tucked it behind her ear. "Poor Mercy," he exclaimed mockingly, "Forced to suffer yet again."

Mercy looked away from the decepticon leader wishing she didn't have to deal with him right at the moment. For an instant she wished her parents were there, the parents that used to care so much about her, the parents who always lifted her back up when she fell down. The parents who would graciously give her a shoulder to cry on. But not anymore, never anymore.

The android suddenly felt herself leaning in against Megatron praying for once that he would hold her in his arms while she cried the night away. He only shoved her away saying, "Don't expect any comfort from me Mercy, this is all _your_ fault."

She had enough; Mercy shoved past Megatron and disappeared down the hall into her bedroom. She grabbed her pajamas and then went inside the bathroom where she took a hot shower trying to wash away the remnants of that day that still clung to her. When the water turned cold, Mercy turned off the shower and got out, dried off, put on her pajamas, and thoroughly dried her hair. Mercy then grabbed her dirty clothes and threw them in the hamper, with the exception of her bloody shirt. When she opened the bathroom door, Megatron was standing right there.

"Shirt?" he asked plainly and Mercy gave it to him.

"Do you have some sort of soldering tool?" Mercy questioned.

Megatron produced one from his subspace and then walked away. Mercy went back in the bathroom where she repaired her lip. When she went to repair her side, she realized it was impossible to do it on her own since the majority of the wound was on her back, which she could not see.

Mercy went out to the kitchen where she waited, seated at the table, for Megatron to return from disposing her shirt.

* * *

Megatron ripped the shirt apart. He absolutely tore it to shreds, and then he buried the shreds in different locations nowhere near Mercy's property. As he buried the last shred, he couldn't help but recall how mad he was at her. He didn't know exactly how Brenna died, but he was one hundred percent sure that Mercy had killed her.

He sighed having finished burying the last scrap beneath the snow-covered ground. Standing, he glanced across the distance to Mercy's house. No lights were on, they were all off still. Megatron was curious to see Brenna's body, just to see if she had been shot like Mercy claimed. And it wouldn't hurt to see what the police were planning to do with Mercy. The decepticon leader shook his head; it probably wasn't the best thing to leave the android alone at the moment. Not when she was probably on her last nerve.

* * *

Mercy moved into the living room and curled up into a ball on the couch. It really didn't surprise her that Megatron didn't believe her, and considering how angry he was, her punishment really hadn't been too severe. She sighed, she missed Brenna.

Brenna was her only friend, the only one who had believed her and actually cared about her. Megatron only helped her for his own benefit; he didn't care an ounce about her. But Brenna listened to her, she understood, and she did everything in her power to help the android. Mercy felt alone, like someone had torn out a part of her heart and thrown it away.

Mercy felt a severe headache coming on. When Megatron had electrocuted her and she went flying back against the door, she had really hit her head. She was thankful her skull was made out of titanium or else it would've been her head that was cracked and not the door.

Feeling depressed and hallow, Mercy lifted up her hands and looked at them. No more blood was on them, no burn marks from the flames that had come out of them earlier were present. It then occurred to her that she hadn't told Megatron how she had projected his image from her eyes, she hadn't told him how she managed to self-combust. Mercy shook her head knowing Megatron would never believe her, and she was quite certain that she couldn't will the flames to come out of her hands again. Her eyes were too teary to even try and launch a projection. When she tried to summon the fire out her hands again, she failed. It was no use.

Mercy reached over and took the TV remote in her hand and turn on the TV to the local news station. The news of Brenna's death was their top story. The android sighed; she never watched TV, she was just curious to know what was going on. She heard Megatron come in suddenly and listened as he walked into the living room, paused, and looked at the television.

"…authorities have found a backpack that belongs to one of Brenna's classmates, the name of the owner of the backpack has not been released at this time. According to the victim's parents, the owner of the backpack was a very close friend of Brenna's," the reporter explained, "At this time, the gun found at the scene of the crime has been identified as stolen."

Megatron heard as Mercy groaned in disgust and then he turned his attention back to the television.

"A single gunshot wound to the abdomen had been determined as the cause of death. Please stay tuned for further updates. If you have any information on this case please contact your local authorities," the reporter said and then Mercy turned off the TV.

"So you stole a gun?" Megatron remarked.

"No," Mercy replied, "Megatron…could you help me repair my side?"

"Why should I? You've _ruined_ everything."

"You're right, I _did_," she retorted, "My life was bad before I met you, and now it's even _worse_. Maybe I'll get lucky and that man who killed Brenna will come back kill me, then you'll get sent back to that damned void where you belong!" Mercy then threw the soldering tool back at him.

It landed at Megatron's feet and he picked it up. He squeezed it in his hand, his temper flaring. "Repair you?" he exclaimed raising his voice and clenching his teeth, "Oh, I'll _repair_ you!" He lunged at Mercy and threw her to the floor where he pinned her. Roughly, the decepticon leader lifted her shirt and carelessly started reconnecting her torn wires. Sparks flew as each wire was reconnected causing Mercy to yelp in pain. Megatron then began soldering her metallic skin back together making sure to run the tool over damaged sensors.

Mercy was glad once he was finished and got off of her. Her side stung like a bad sunburn did only a bit worse. Slowly she stood and hesitantly faced Megatron. "Thank you," she said and he watched her as she went to her bedroom and shut the door.

Megatron sighed heavily and sat on the couch. It was quite obvious that he was going to have to sleep on it once again. It was going to be a rough night.

* * *

Believe it or not this chapter was over 3000 words as well. I feel so proud of myself. Anyways, kudos to livinglife and The Copper Arabian for knowing it _wasn't_ Megatron at the door. And livinglife just so you know, I'm almost done reading Fast Food Nation, just got to get through the rest of chapter 9 and 10. Please review!!


	9. Dizzy Spell

Yes I know it's been awhile, it took me forever to write this. But like always, thanks to everyone who is reading and reviewing, it makes this story keep going. Keep up the good work.

* * *

**Chapter Nine: Dizzy Spell**

_Blood; it dripped from the ceiling and streaked down the walls. There was so much of it, and Brenna's lifeless body lay in the center of the room, gray, cold, and unmoving. The blood pooled around her body coagulating; bloody handprints were smeared along the doors and windows. Suddenly a man came wading through the crimson flood, he had a gun and it was pointed at Mercy. He motioned for her to come to him, which she did. Without warning, his hands came around her neck and began squeezing the life out of her._

"_I want you Mercy," he declared and Mercy suddenly felt the gun pressed to her abdomen, "Choose me or die."_

_She screamed._

* * *

Megatron jumped awake when he heard Mercy scream. He sighed angrily when he checked his internal clock only to find out it was nearly two o'clock in the morning. The decepticon leader yawned and rubbed the sleep from his optics, thinking about how he could get Mercy back for this. Slowly he stood and made his way to the android's room. He opened her door only to find Mercy tossing and turning on the bed, one of the sheets wrapped tightly about her neck. Megatron sighed and went over to the girl well aware that she was having a nightmare.

"Mercy, wake up."

The android remained asleep and Megatron removed the sheet from Mercy's neck unsure of how it had gotten wrapped around her like that. He then shook her a bit hoping that would wake her up. Mercy gasped and sat bolt upright. Megatron smirked at her reaction and then said, "I see you're awake."

"H-He's coming for me," Mercy stammered, "H-He's going to kill me."

"Who is Mercy?"

"He killed Brenna, and now he wants me."

"Mercy, what—

"No! I won't let you hurt me," Mercy cried, blindly slamming her fists into Megatron's torso.

The decepticon leader saw she was awake, but still out of it. He grasped Mercy's shoulders and gave her a good shake. He didn't stop until he heard the android say, "Megatron, what are you doing?"

Removing his hands he replied, "Waking you up, you were having a nightmare."

"Why do you care?"

"I don't, you were screaming and woke me up," he explained, "Now go back to sleep."

"Wait," Mercy exclaimed grabbing his hand, "Can…can you stay here? Please, at least until I fall asleep."

"Why should I? You lied to me, disobeyed my orders, and you murdered Brenna putting us into one hell of a situation."

She pressed her lips into a tight, thin line and glared at him, "I gave up my _life_ for you and you're just too stuck up in your pride to do something for me. I didn't even kill Brenna."

Megatron glared back at her and yanked his hand out of her grip growling, "You don't deserve my sympathy."

Mercy pushed him away from her bedside and got up from the bed. She left her room and headed for the front door. The android had every intention of leaving, she couldn't stand Megatron anymore. He took everything away from her and expected her to do every little thing that he said. She was sick of the beatings and didn't want to hear him falsely accuse her again. Mercy didn't know where to go though; she had other family members, but they were all either too busy or too poor to take her in. None of them would recognize her anymore anyway now that she was an android, and she could thank Megatron for that. Still, she wanted to get away, even if she had nowhere to go. Mercy took the doorknob in her hand and went to open the door when a hand landed on her shoulder.

"Megatron," she gnarred.

"Going somewhere Mercy?" the decepticon leader inquired.

The android shifted and Megatron tightened his grip. Mercy tightened her grip on the knob, "Yes, I'm going somewhere, and it would mean the world if you let go of me."

"Don't you think it's a little late to be going out?" he taunted.

"Do you think I care?"

"Let go of the doorknob Mercy, or suffer."

Reluctantly, the android let her arm fall away from the knob and back to her side. Megatron turned her so that she was facing him. Mercy glared at the floor not wanting to look at the monstrosity before her that was ruining her life. Megatron cupped her chin in his hand and tilted her head so that she was looking at him. With a look of evil amusement upon his face he said, "I believe that we have to set up some new rules Mercy, to show you this _isn't_ a game anymore."

"A game? Do you really think I'm viewing everything as a game!?"

"You couldn't fool me."

"You sick creep."

"Clearly you do not understand my superiority. Shall I lay out the rules now?"

"Go ahead and waste your breath, I'm not going to follow them."

Megatron raised an optic ridge at her, "Oh really? We'll see about that. From now on, you are to address me as Master Megatron—

"Get a life."

"If you do or say anything I don't like, you will be punished," he stated and watched as Mercy rolled her eyes, "And you _will_ do as I say without comment. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal, but I refuse to bend to your will," she remarked and broke out of his grasp. Mercy turned back to the door when suddenly something hit her in the back of the head. Her legs gave way beneath her and she fell to her knees. Pain was just beginning to course through her skull as she collapsed face first onto the floor and into darkness.

* * *

Mercy woke up with a dull ache in the back of her head. Her shoulders were throbbing and her vision was foggy. The android went to rub her eyes to drive away the fog, but her hands didn't come to her, and something extremely uncomfortable was beneath her back. Casually, Mercy managed to blink away the fog only to notice she was tied and gagged lying on the sofa in her room. Her arms were pinned painfully beneath her, her shoulders hurting just as much as her head did; unbearably, and it was all because of her arms. She thought her shoulder joints had been replaced with torches and knives. It felt like someone was dropping fist-sized rocks on her head, slowly, one by one, all hitting in the same spot. Mercy looked over to see Megatron sleeping peacefully on her bed. Anger boiled through her circuits.

The android didn't have the energy to try and roll over on her side, and being in the pain she was in, she really didn't want to fall on the floor. Slowly she lifted her head and looked to see what Megatron had tied her up with. Bed sheets, clothing, basically anything her could find, and he had done a good job of it. Mercy could hardly move, no wonder she was so uncomfortable. She lowered her head back down to the cushion as she felt a wave of dizziness threatening to come crashing down upon her. She vaguely remembered Brenna was dead, and she felt a sinking feeling in her chest. Mercy had a gut feeling that she was going to be dealing with the police today. It was a good thing she had gotten the name of Brenna's killer before she died, it was the only thing that could get her out of this mess.

"_So what was his name again?"_ she wondered.

A stab of nervous shock pierced through her suddenly. Mercy couldn't remember the man's name. Angrily, she gazed over at Megatron, who was still sleeping peacefully, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. He was on his side, facing her, dreaming, unaware of the nothing going on around him. He had ruined everything, her friendship with Brenna, her old _human_ self, and her life. The android hated him, inside and out. He deserved no sympathy; he deserved _nothing_, nothing but exile to the void from which he had come from.

"_Wake up Megatron,"_ Mercy demanded and watched as his smile faded, _"Wake the bloody hell up!"_

He rolled over and Mercy prodded into his mind again and again, louder each time. Finally she succeeded when Megatron rolled onto his back, his optics flaring online. Mercy watched him, a glare written on her face but deep down inside she was awed by him. Megatron was so powerful, determined, and rather handsome for being a dead robot, but he was so overwhelming. Mercy knew she was learning the hard way that once Megatron set his sights on something, there was no running, only submission, surrender, or humiliating defeat.

"Something wrong Mercy?" he taunted sitting up and looking over at her.

_"I refuse to waste my breath answering stupid questions. Now, let me go."_

"Did you forget the rules I set up last night?" he questioned unleashing the dark energy in her mind.

Mercy grimaced feeling her head beginning to throb, _"Did you forget I said I wasn't going to follow them?"_

"Then suffer the consequences."

_"Let me go."_

"Beg."

_"What?"_

"Beg for me Mercy, I want to hear you beg."

Mercy rolled her eyes and looked away from him. Megatron could tell she was hurting, he could see that she was in a lot of pain, and it thrilled him. He loved to see people suffer because of him, and Mercy was no exception. She closed her eyes suddenly, she fidgeted her arms briefly, and then there was a pause. Megatron could tell she was concentrating on something, but before he could figure out what, Mercy slid her arms out from under her, sat up, and freed herself.

"I refuse," she stated once the gag had been removed from her mouth.

Megatron narrowed his optics at her, "If you could've untied yourself in the first place, why did you wake me up?"

"Because _Master_," she sneered, "You would've thought I ran away again and I'd be beaten by you for no good reason."

"I don't need a good reason to beat you Mercy," he smirked and then noticed burn marks on the sofa that hadn't been there last night when he placed Mercy there. Something was up, and Megatron _would_ find out what.

Mercy ignored the decepticon leader and got up from the sofa, her head feeling like it was going to implode on itself. The dark energy still had a good hold on her CPU, or whatever it was attacking. Mercy went over to the dresser and grabbed a pair of jeans from them.

"Wear a shirt, one that says 'I'm not a murderer,'" Megatron retorted.

"You jerk."

"Mercy, you _will_ abide by my rules."

"As you command _Master_ Megatron."

"Do not toy with me Mercy."

Mercy finished selecting her outfit for the day and went to the bathroom where she changed into it. While she was in there, Megatron inspected the sofa and deduced that there were clearly _fresh_ burn marks on the sofa cushion. He also noticed the cloth he had used to tie her hands together was burnt as well. Mercy was hiding something from him, and he didn't like not knowing. Megatron cursed under his breath just as Mercy emerged from the bathroom.

The android went out to her kitchen where she took out a can of unleaded oil hoping that it would relieve her headache. Just as she began drinking it, she felt Megatron release the dark energy's grip within her skull. Mercy felt light-headed suddenly and set her bottle of oil down on the counter. Even though some of the pain was leaving, there was still an enormous amount there. Her head felt heavy and ached, her shoulders felt like they had muscle spasms, and her heart felt ripped out of her chest. A dizzying fog covered her eyes suddenly and her knees buckled.

"What's wrong?" Megatron's voice suddenly sounded, a small hint of worry evident.

"You…hit me," she exclaimed losing her balance. The android was surprised when she fell back into Megatron's arms.

He immediately carried her over to one of the chairs at the kitchen table. Megatron had a gut feeling that he had let his anger get the best of him earlier that morning when he punched her. He feared he might of damaged one of the vital systems in her head. As soon as he set her down in the chair, he felt around the back of her head and found a swollen bump where he had punched her. It was a concussion; Megatron knew that for sure.

"Ouch, Megatron! Don't touch me there, it hurts," Mercy hissed.

Megatron grabbed her arms and knelt down so he was eye level with her. "Mercy, you can't go to school today," he said.

"I have to."

"No, you need to rest. I fear I gave you a severe concussion, it's not going to go away unless you get some rest."

"Megatron, no! Why do you do these things to me? I _have_ to go to school today or else people _will_ suspect I killed Brenna."

"I understand that Mercy, and I'll take full responsibility for this. You need to stay here."

"No."

"Mercy, don't make me knock you out."

"At least let me try," she argued, "Then things will be alright. You've got to let me try."

"Alright, but I strongly advise against this."

"This is _your_ fault."

"Don't make me point the blame at you."

Mercy nodded and Megatron stood. He retrieved her unleaded oil for her and then sat across from her at the table. "What are you going to do about your backpack?" he asked.

"I'll check the news and then see," Mercy exclaimed standing and walking into the living room where she took a seat on the couch. She picked up the remote and turned on the TV. Megatron sat in a chair on the far side of the room.

"…authorities plan to question Mercy LeCroix sometime today as to why her backpack was at Brenna's home. Mercy hasn't been named a suspect yet, but still remains a definite person of interest…" the news reporter trailed off and the android turned off the TV.

Mercy rubbed her temples and Megatron could tell she was fighting off another round of dizziness, and thinking. The android was desperately trying to remember the killer's name, but nothing was coming to mind. Mercy replayed Brenna's final moments trying to remember.

_"I…hope they don't…blame you for this crime."_

_"You'll be okay Brenna. Just tell me who that guy was."_

Nothing, nothing but an empty, lost memory. There was no use in trying to remember, Mercy couldn't. She sighed heavily and stood. School was in session and the android couldn't afford to skip. Slowly she made her way over to the door and started her fifteen-minute walk to school, no backpack, just a sore and breaking body.

_**"Let me know if you start feeling faint."**_

_"Is it just me or are you worried about me?"_

He didn't answer.

* * *

Mercy arrived to school later than usual. It didn't really matter anyway, Mercy only had to grab a couple things out of her locker. As she took out a notebook she needed, she heard someone whisper, "Look there she is, the murderer." The android then felt numerous eyes upon her, heard a chorus of whispers, and then felt a presence behind her. Mercy shut her locker and turned around only to find Mr. Clarkson, the superintendent, standing there. "Mr. Clarkson?" she asked surprised to see him.

"Come with me please," he said.

Mercy sighed and followed after him. He took her to his office, and two police officers were inside. Knowing this was coming, the android followed him into the office. Mr. Clarkson offered Mercy a seat at a table in the conference area of his office. He then left the room giving the officers and the android privacy.

The girl looked across the table to where the officers were seated. She had a gut feeling that this wasn't going to go too well. One of the officers spoke, "I take it you're Mercy LeCroix, and I'm quite sure you know what this is about."

"Yes," she replied reading there nametags. The officer who had spoke first was K. Davis; the other officer was R. Andrews.

"Okay then," Andrews spoke up, "We found a backpack with papers that have your name on them inside at the murder scene of Brenna Meyers, do you confirm that is _your_ backpack?"

"Yes."

"According to the parents of the victim, you were close friend's with Brenna. Is that true?"

"Yes."

"Were you over at Brenna's house yesterday afternoon between three-thirty and four-thirty?" Davis inquired as Andrews glanced at a video camera in the corner of the room.

Mercy was already sick of the questions as she responded for the third time, "Yes."

"Why?"

The android fought back the urge to roll her eyes, not only would her annoyed look be caught on camera, but also the officers might suspect something. She said, "On Tuesday, Brenna and I had made plans to hang out over at her house the next day after school."

"So you went to her house yesterday after school with her?"

"Yes."

"Were you at all angry with each other?"

"No, she had just saved my life Tuesday from Coach Hill."

Officer Andrews nodded apparently aware of that, but Officer Davis only smirked, "Did Coach Hill's attempts against your life inspire you to try killing as well?"

Mercy glared at him, "Inspire me to kill? Heck no."

"So what happened while you were at Brenna's house?" Andrews questioned.

"Well, right off the bat Brenna ordered a pizza. Then we talked and gossiped for a few minutes until there was a knock at the door."

"What did you talk about?"

Mercy thought quickly, "The hottest clothes, boys we liked, the usual girl talk."

"At any point did this turn into an argument?"

"No."

"You said someone knocked on the door?" Davis piped up.

"Yes, Brenna thought it was the pizza delivery person and went to answer the door. I stayed in the kitchen where we had been talking while she got the door."

"At any point did you leave the kitchen?"

"Who was at the door?" Andrews added.

"Well, when Brenna gasped and yelled at the person to leave I realized it _wasn't_ the pizza guy. So to make sure everything was alright, I went into the living room where the door was only to see a man all dressed in black with a black ski mask on and a gun in hand. He had the gun pointed to Brenna, and when he saw me he got rather…excited. The man ordered Brenna to let him in, which she did. He then made me sit over on the couch while he gave Brenna the choice to choose him or die. I tried to convince Brenna to choose him so she could get help later. The man then came after me, Brenna stopped him, he kissed her, offered her the choice again, and she refused and then he shot her," Mercy explained.

"What happened after the man shot her?" Davis wondered.

Mercy froze, she hadn't thought about this part. Hoping this would work she said, "He freaked out, dropped the gun, and ran."

"Do you know why he freaked out?"

"Maybe because he had realized that he just killed a person, I don't know."

"What did you do?"

"I checked to see if Brenna was still alive, she wasn't, so I ran and started heading home," Mercy exclaimed jumping ahead in her story.

"Did you call the police?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I was afraid that you would suspect me as the murderer, and I was having trouble believing Brenna was really dead."

"You do realize that when you don't call to report a crime we're going to start pointing our fingers at you, don't you?" Andrews remarked.

"I understand that perfectly," Mercy smirked, "I also understand that you never read me my rights and that I can leave here when I choose, am I right?"

The officers glanced at each other realizing their mistake. Mercy felt the dizziness starting to come back suddenly. She struggled to suppress it and then said to the officers, "I didn't kill Brenna Meyers, that man did, he was her stalker, ask her parents about it."

"We already did, her so called 'stalker' is in Florida, where they moved from," Davis explained, "Do you even know that man's name?"

Mercy sighed heavily, "She told me, but I don't remember."

_**"Let me guess, that's my fault."**_

_"You guessed right."_

_**"You're such a liar. That story was the biggest load of slag I've ever heard."**_

"Is there anything else we should know? Other than you forgot your backpack at the crime scene?"

"No," Mercy replied. She didn't hear what the officer said next as the dizziness took control causing her to faint, slump to one side, and fall out of the chair.

The officers rushed to her aid and tried to revive her. When there efforts failed, Andrews went off in search of help. Though invisible, Megatron went over to Mercy and crouched beside her, opposite the side Davis was on.

**_"I thought I told you to tell me if you were feeling faint… Mercy? Mercy wake up… MERCY!"_**

_"Y-you don't need to shout, my head hurts enough."_

**_"You're going home; open your eyes."_**

The android opened her eyes only to see a somewhat worried Officer Davis. She blinked a couple of times before she asked, "W-What happened?"

"You fainted, don't worry, help's coming."

"Oh, no wonder my head is pounding."

**_"I told you that coming to school wasn't a good choice. That concussion's going to keep plaguing you until you rest."_**

_"Are you worried?"_

**_"No, I just need you healthy so I can collect energy from you. Don't expect me to baby you through this either."_**

_"Your voice is hurting my head."_

**_"Good."_**

Officer Andrews returned with one of the health clinic doctors at that moment. The doctor asked Mercy a few questions, took her temperature, and then told her she had to go home. Mercy was then helped to her feet, she could feel Megatron's presence behind her, a hand a on her shoulder supporting her incase the dizziness should return.

_"Did you see what my temperature was?"_

**_"Yes, it was slightly above normal."_**

_"Ninety-nine degrees?"_

**_"Ninety-eight point nine but close enough. What is the normal body temperature for a human?"_**

_"Ninety-eight point six."_

**_"I'm assuming that your normal body temperature is pretty close to that now. Let's just get home, the sooner you rest the better."_**

_"Assume makes an ass out of you and me."_

**_"Ha ha, very funny Mercy."_**

_"Do you even get it?"_

**_"Yes, it's all in the way you spell assume. Now enough of this nonsense, it'll do nothing but make you faint again."_**

"Would you like a ride home Mercy?" Andrews asked.

"I would greatly appreciate it," Mercy replied.

Andrews nodded and escorted the android to the police car while Davis got the video camera. When they got out to the car, Andrews opened the back door for Mercy. She glanced inside and then thought, _"Master…are you coming in the car too?"_

**_"It'll be a tight squeeze, but I will. You just got to pause long enough for me so I have time to get out."_**

_"Do I?"_

_**"Mercy."**_

"_I'll think about it,"_ she remarked and stepped into the car.

Andrews shut the door and then moved into the drivers seat. Davis came out a couple seconds later, put the camera in the trunk, and then got into the front passenger seat. Andrews began to drive out of the school parking lot, and out of curiosity, Mercy reached over into what appeared to be the empty part of the seat, only to have her hand run into an invisible barrier.

**_"That'd be my cockpit Mercy, go any lower and you'll be severely punished."_**

Mercy quickly drew her hand back, _"I was just wondering if you were there, chill out."_

**_"Don't tell me what to do, android."_**

_"I'll make sure you stay right here in this cop car."_

He didn't answer and Mercy turned her attention to the cage-like wall that separated the front seats from the back seats. She had a feeling the officers had offered her this ride to intimidate her, but Mercy wasn't intimidated. The android was looking however for a possible escape from the car, incase she was arrested. Her odds looked small though, there was no door handles in the back seat, there was no door lock she could pull to get out, no button or crank to get the window down, just nothing. Not to mention if she were arrested, she'd be hand cuffed and left with just her feet.

"Are you sure there is nothing else you would like to tell us?" Davis questioned.

"Are you implying that there is something more that I should say?" she refuted.

"Look, if you killed Brenna—

"I should confess, I know. But if I told you I killed Brenna, it would be a lie."

"So this man, do you remember any part of his name?"

"He was her stalker, ask Brenna's parents," Mercy said again.

The officers didn't say anything else and Mercy gave them the address of her home. It was a short drive, and a couple minutes later, Andrews pulled into the driveway of the android's home. He shut off the car, but neither him nor Davis moved to get out of the car. Mercy glanced to the front seat and noticed a small camera on the dashboard of the car. Apparently the questioning _wasn't_ over.

"What about the gun Mercy, did you steal it or did the man?"

Mercy slumped back in the seat, "The man. I have no connections to any gun dealers, I don't own a gun."

**_"Not that this isn't interesting, but I would like to get out."_**

_"You aren't the only one."_

"Have you ever fired a gun?"

"No."

"Would you mind if we took a look around your home?"

_**"Let them, we've got nothing to hide."**_

_"Nothing but several cans of unleaded oil."_

**_"Right…I highly doubt they'll be looking in your kitchen cupboards."_**

_"They better not."_

"Mercy?"

"Yes, you can look around."

Both Andrews and Davis got out of the car and let Mercy out. The android paused long enough to let Megaton get out. She knew he was out when she felt him brush past her. Sighing, the girl allowed the officers to follow her into the house. Once inside, the officers abandoned her and began looking around. Mercy dragged herself over to the kitchen table and slumped into a chair. She crossed her arms and laid them on the table; she rested her head face down in her arms. Truthfully, she really didn't feel good. Her head throbbed; her shoulders were throbbing in rhythm with her head.

Mercy could hear the two officers digging through her things in her room, her parent's room, and even the bathroom. They then went through the junk room, her father's old office, and then proceeded into the living room. She was suddenly hit with the feeling that they were going to go through the kitchen cupboards. The android began trying to think of an excuse for the unleaded oil. Her head was pounding so much though that she couldn't think of anything reasonable other than the truth.

One of the officers stepped into the kitchen suddenly and Mercy glanced up. "When do your parents come home Mercy?" Officer Andrews asked.

"My mom, never, she neglected me. My dad, he's on a business trip and he'll be gone until the end of the month," she lied.

"So you've been left home alone?" Davis piped up coming into the kitchen.

"I can take care of myself. My grandpa stops in every now and then to check on me."

**_'Enough of the grandpa.'_**

"And who's your grandpa?"

"_Oh crap,"_ Mercy thought, "Leave him out of this, he's old and doesn't need to be stressed out over me."

The officers exchanged suspicious glances and then Andrews said, "Well, thank you for your time Mercy. Sorry to bother you when you're ill."

"Whatever, aren't you going to search the kitchen?"

Andrews looked to Davis who swept the kitchen with his eyes, "There, we searched it. We'll see you later Mercy," replied Davis and both he and Andrews left.

As soon as the police car was out of sight, Megatron reappeared. Mercy looked over at him, "Well, you were right. They _didn't _look in the cupboards."

"I wonder why," he mused, "Something's not right."

"Whatever, I'm going to bed. Unless the world is about to end, don't wake me up," she said getting up from the chair.

"Mercy, I think it'd be best to get out of here for a while."

"If I leave now, the cops _will_ think I committed the murder."

"They already think you committed the murder. Mercy, why didn't you listen to me when I said to stay away from Brenna? Have I not made it clear that I know what's best for you?"

"Oh, _you_ know what's best for me, do you? Beating me on a daily basis, setting up bogus rules, and telling me what I can and cannot do?" argued the android, "You _think_ you know what's best for me?"

"Mercy, don't make me give you another concussion,"

The android sighed heavily and looked at him. "You're right okay? I should've listened to you, but you were just being so mean and controlling that I couldn't—wouldn't let myself listen to you," she admitted.

"I'm not going to change my ways, but you _will_ change yours if you want to get through this."

"It's too late now…I'm going to bed."

"I suggest you highly consider running."

"Whatever," Mercy exclaimed and disappeared into her room.

Megatron glanced after her for a moment; he knew she didn't feel good and was in pain. He didn't feel any pity towards her though, just a tad bit concerned. The decepticon leader felt himself being rather amused by Mercy's efforts to resist him. No one, not even Starscream, had ever refused to listen to his direct orders like this. Of course there were autobots foolish enough to try and defy him, but they were dealt with right away, before they became a threat. Mercy was an exception, she infuriated him nonetheless, but she was still amusing.

* * *

Mercy literally collapsed onto her bed. It felt so good to lie down, comfortable, warm, and calm. All the android wanted to do was sleep, maybe, if she were lucky enough, she'd wake up to find Megatron gone, the police off her back, and the world burning at her feet. Mercy pulled the covers to her chin and snuggled into the bed.

Sleep came to her slowly, like water dripping gently, each drop coming quicker than before until the soft dripping turned into a roar, and sleep had engulfed Mercy.

* * *

This chapter has made it to the record books by being the longest chapter I've ever written in all my stories. 5,202 words. Not too shabby huh? I have a feeling chapter eleven is going to be longer…maybe, but chapter ten comes first! And I for those of you who didn't get the "assume makes an ass out of you and me" part, think about the way it is spelled. Ass/u/me. Please be so kind as to review!


	10. Break My Fall

Well it's been a while since I last updated this story too. Sorry about that…school has just been so busy lately. From homework to projects to essays to studying and not having any time to sleep…yeah. That's been my life lately. Well, I must admit that this probably isn't one of my better chapters. I'm using a song by Breaking Benjamin in it and at one point in the song they say a bad word, so I changed it to filthy in order to be decent about it.

* * *

**Chapter Ten: Break My Fall**

Mercy wasn't sure how long she spent in her bed just looking up at the ceiling. She just didn't feel like getting up, yet she wasn't quite sure how long she had been asleep. Her alarm clock said it was six o'clock in the morning, but for some reason it felt much later than that. Mercy sighed not wanting to leave the comfort of her bed and face the pressures of the day. Every morning the same question plagued her mind: what's going to happen today?

The android knew she was in for some sort of ridicule; that was always a given. But there were other possibilities as to what could happen to her now. These possibilities, forced upon her unwillingly, were what tormented her with questions now. So, are they going to arrest me today or tomorrow? Will they remember to read me my rights this time?_ Will I still be innocent, even if proven guilty?_

No one likes being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and nobody could be an exception to that. A police officer can't turn back the hands of time when he tries to settle a fight between two men, only to have the two men turn the fight on him. An innocent woman walking down a dark street can't start her day over when a hand slips over her mouth and pulls her into the night. A witness can only speak the truth or submit when they are blamed for the murder of a friend, and _Mercy_ was no exception. Life would be so much better if there was a rewind button, but there wasn't, and everyone is doomed to suffer through their mistakes again and again and again. No rewind, no fast-forward, no pause, no stop, only play.

"_If I were a movie,"_ thought Mercy, _"I'd be one of those stupid characters killed in the first scene because nobody cares about them. And nobody cares about me."_

Mercy never thought that she would spend so long thinking about her life. She knew she had to get up soon and get ready for school, but she still couldn't make herself leave her bed. Every little aspect that the android had lived through was leaving her in doubt. _"When I die, no one is going to care. Brenna, she's got her parents mourning her death, her family, heck…the whole county is weeping for her…even me. But who's going to grieve when I die?"_ The answer was simple: no one. And right then and there Mercy hated herself. What kind of life was she living without family and friends? All she had was Megatron, and he bitterly hated her.

The android's head really didn't hurt anymore from the concussion it had received so generously by Megatron. Mercy knew she had to get up now and start getting ready, no matter how much she didn't want to. It was rather amazing to realize how much comfort one can receive from their bed. When cold, you can snuggle under the covers. When tired, you can lie down and rest peacefully. When scared, you can duck under the covers and feel you have the protection of a thousand armies. It's so hard to daily leave peace, comfort, and warmth behind just to face the cold, bitterness, and struggles of the day.

"Mercy?" came a gruff voice at the door.

The android peeled her eyes away from the ceiling and looked at Megatron with sorrow and boredom written upon her face. She sighed heavily before asking, "How long have I been asleep?"

"Quite some time now. You fell asleep Thursday evening and slept right through Friday, and now it's Saturday," Megatron explained monotonously.

"What?" Mercy gasped, sitting up in her bed and reaching for her cheap cellphone, which told her the date. Mercy then looked to the calendar hanging on her wall. "Oops," she exclaimed realizing that Megatron was indeed telling the truth, "Did the school call?"

"Yes, and I took care of them for you."

"What about the police?"

"I haven't heard anything from them. Are you feeling better?" the decepticon leader asked—still monotonously—as he crossed his arms and leaned against the doorway.

"I was…and then I saw you," she retorted getting up from the bed and walking over to the door herself and stopped since she was unable to get out. A slicing pain ripped through her skull suddenly, causing Mercy to wince and put a hand to her head.

"What was that, Mercy?" smirked the decepticon leader, obviously causing her pain with the dark energy.

The android glared at him venomously before she spat, "Release me from your tendrils of pain. You think you can give all the orders, well, now it's my turn."

"Make my day, android," he grinned.

A demon birthed inside Mercy's soul just then, if she had a soul, and she squeezed her eyes shut as she concentrated on sending a tendril of her own into Megatron's titanium skull. She reached a dimension within herself that she had not known existed. The android concentrated so hard, she fell deep inside the realms of her own mind. Mercy could feel herself floating though her feet were planted firmly on the floor of her room. Yet, somehow, her inner-self was flying through darkness, searching for a link, anything, that connected her mind to Megatron's. If he was able to get inside her head, there had to be some sort of connection created by the dark energy. _"The dark energy,"_ thought Mercy, _"that's why it's so dark in my mind."_

A purple tunnel of light suddenly illuminated in front of Mercy's eyes so brightly that she had to cover her face for a few moments while her eyes slowly adjusted. When they finally had, Mercy looked down into the tunnel and into a face of such pure evil, it was hell to try and not runaway. Not looking into the evil's glowing pale blue eyes, Mercy summoned forth the fire that circulated through her circuits and unleashed a thick beam of the burning energy into the tunnel, and into the evil face.

Mercy returned to reality just as Megatron put his hands to his head in pain. The dark energy immediately collapsed from its painful grip on her mind. It was a relief to the android, and a pleasure to see her burden, Megatron, in his own pain caused so gratefully by her. The Master's just _reward_; his long overdue punishment for his tyranny. "Does it burn, _Master_?" inquired Mercy with a hopeful smirk upon her face.

Megatron glared at her with a look of utmost hate and resentment. It was the last thing he wanted to do: admit to Mercy that his mind _did_ burn and that his every thought was turning to ash. His burning head betrayed him though as he felt himself unwillingly nod.

Mercy's smirk grew into an evil grin as she said, "What does it feel like knowing _you're_ my…first…to burn, _Master_?"

It sickened the decepticon leader when he heard how passionately Mercy's tongue rolled over the word "first." Anger seethed its way through his circuits and slowly began to numb the fire in his mind. Megatron hoped more than anything that Mercy couldn't see _her_ fire burning behind _his _optics. An anger-guided hand grabbed her by the shirt collar and shoved her up against a wall. Megatron pressed his full weight against her, not caring if her crushed her or not and sent them both back to the void from which he had come from.

"Mercy," he growled, optics focused dead into her eyes in a blazing, hateful gaze. His face was a deadly breath away from hers, "Release your grip on my mind or you and I will be spending eternity in that wretched void, and I swear your death will be extremely slow and painful."

Mercy's look of surprise melted into an expression of evil pleasure, "You know, I was planning on burning Brenna's killer first, but I suppose he will be the first to burn to _death_…unless, that is of course, _you _want to be the first for that too."

Megatron grit his teeth, "I've created a monster! What's gotten into you, you filthy, wretched, miserable _android_! You think you can kill someone and then act like this? What demon has possessed you?"

"Yours," she answered simply knowing that she was absolutely right, and Megatron knew too.

"End the pain and get out of my head," the decepticon leader said in a calmer voice, "You know the consequences."

Mercy's grin broadened, "It's funny, how quickly you can sound like me."

_End the pain._ Indeed, that was Mercy's line that she had grown so accustomed to whenever Megatron hurt her. And now he was the one saying it. How did she get into _his_ mind? He was supposed to have control over her, not the other way around. Mercy was a lot smarter than he thought, and he knew from this point on he would have to be more careful around her.

When Mercy didn't receive a response from him, she frowned and extracted the fire from his mind. She didn't say anything, and just numbly waited for her punishment. The android turned her eyes away from his gaze feeling uncomfortable. Megatron's crushing weight was beginning to make her limbs tingle with poor circulation. Finally, she broke the silence between them saying, "Get off me!"

He pulled her from the wall and slammed her back into it, extracting a small whimper from her lips. "Mercy," he snarled, "I've put up with you time and time again, and no matter what sort of punishment I inflict upon you, you still don't learn the lesson. Do I need to engrave it into your flesh that I am in control?"

"In control of what? This complete chaos? Megatron, if it hadn't been for you, neither of us would be at each other's throats right now!"

The decepticon leader slammed her into the wall again, this time a lot harder, "Why are you blaming me when you know it is _your_ fault?"

Mercy didn't say anything and cringed when Megatron growled ferociously. He said, "For the love of Primus, I cannot wait until I'm through with you. But you still must be punished, and because I loathe your attitude, I'm reprogramming you."

"What?" she exclaimed.

"I am reprogramming you," Megatron repeated annoyed, "to be more…loyal to me."

Mercy was the one who glared this time, "More loyal? Don't you mean reprogram me to be your pet…your _slave_? Reprogram me to follow your every wretched word until you are alive again and then leave?"

"Precisely," he grinned, "unless, that is, you declare your loyalty to me now, and carry out my biddings. It's your choice, android."

What was it worth? When Megatron set his sights on something, he always got it. And what could Mercy do except for submit to this tyrant or be turned into something she was not? But she was already turned into something she was not: this android with fire in her blood. Her life hadn't been that bad before she met Megatron…back when just her classmates resented her. But now, she was the soon-to-be subject of hate to everyone who had ever heard about her and the murder of Brenna Meyers. And what use was it to blame Megatron when none of this was any of his fault? Sure, he was the evil one, but he had been looking out for Mercy from the start. Heck, if he hadn't turned her into an android, she would've drowned because of Coach Hill. And he had tried to protect her from the consequences of hanging out with Brenna, but she ignored him.

Megatron, as evil as he was, wasn't the villain, but Mercy was.

For the first time, a sense of guilt began to root itself inside her heart, and it felt awful. Mercy wanted to go back to bed and start the day over…but she couldn't, for no one can turn back the hands of time. But was Mercy really entirely to blame? Megatron had acted as a tyrant, and he still was. How would anyone else act when forced to submit or suffer? Yet Mercy found herself doing both.

Sighing, the android finally spoke, "Forgive me Megatron."

"Forgive you for what _you've_ done?"

"I am a fool, and I'll say that before you get the chance to. But you were right about everything, trying to keep me away from Brenna, all those names you've called me. And I was wrong, completely and utterly _wrong_," she exclaimed and then found herself blinking back tears.

Megatron smirked, "Do you submit or not?"

"I submit."

"Wise decision; now declare your loyalty to me, android."

"I declare my utmost loyalty to you Master Megatron, it will be you and only you that I will serve and follow the command of," Mercy said emotionlessly.

"Really?" he inquired raising an optic ridge, "Prove it."

Mercy looked at him like he was insane, "H-How?"

Megatron had to think about this. He wanted to make her do something that she would normally never do, something that she would not like. But he didn't know what. It was obvious he couldn't say something stupid like 'dump a can of unleaded oil over your head' or 'clean the house with just a toothbrush.' No, it had to be sinister, something he'd enjoy watching. But still nothing was coming to mind. Finally he thought of something, but in order for it to work, he could not think of the consequences that would most definitely result from this. Releasing Mercy, he took a step back, crossed his arms, and said, "Call the police and confess to murdering Brenna."

Mercy gave him a confused look before saying, "Are you sure, Master? I mean, I don't want to lie to the police, and are you aware of the consequences?"

"There will be no consequences because as soon as you make the call we will be leaving here."

"Then what's the use of making the call?"

Megatron frowned, fuming in frustration, "Alright never mind. When the moment and time presents itself, you will prove your loyalty. Now enlighten me Mercy, what made you kill Brenna?"

"How many times do I have to tell you that I didn't kill her? That stalker guy, you know she mentioned him, he was the one who killed her in cold blood," explained the android trying to remain calm.

"You heard the police say he's in Florida, wherever that is, he wasn't here," argued the decepticon leader.

"Why don't you believe me?"

"You are not the easiest person to believe Mercy, you have lied to me before, and unless you can prove it to me that you didn't kill Brenna, I cannot believe you."

"Megatron, you were around me constantly, did you ever see me steal a gun?"

"No," he replied and then added, "But how do I know you didn't steal a gun before I came here?"

"Why would I steal a gun? Be practical Megatron!" Mercy exclaimed becoming frustrated and beginning to think that proving her innocence was like nailing jello to a tree; simply impossible. There was simply no use in trying to convince anyone that she was innocent when it was quite clear everyone had given her the verdict of guilty. All the evidence was against her, the backpack, the fact she was the only one known to be at Brenna's house at the time of the murder. The only thing that couldn't be determined was who stole the gun, and Mercy had a feeling that she would be blamed for that too.

"Practical? Mercy, I'm being realistic!" exclaimed Megatron. He watched her as her eyes turned down to the floor, and he knew that she was deep in thought. The decepticon leader didn't feel an ounce of pity for her; he was still too angry about the pain she had inflicted upon him to feel any…nice emotions towards her. All they did was constantly bicker and argue, sometimes with just verbal abuses or sometimes violently. But never before during one of their fights had Mercy caused him pain.

_You fought me once but not again_

_You let me feel your heavy hand_

Megatron grit his teeth angrily. If only he had been more forceful, more threatening, more terrifying around the android then she would've never gone to Brenna's house and have to take the blame for the murder, whether she did it or not. And there was nothing Megatron could do now to prevent the murder from ever happening. Time was against him, as it is everyone else, and he was left to force Mercy to move on and protect her from whatever potential harm presented itself to her now.

_I will clean your filthy mess_

_And leave no trace of evidence_

In this conflict between Megatron and Mercy, neither of them were losing nor winning. It was clear that they were both evil, and both deadly threats. And both of them knew that there was no way that they could get out of this mess without the other.

_I am losing you again_

_Let me out and let me in _

'_Cause you're not alone here _

_Not at all _

_Let me belong here _

_Break my fall_

Mercy sighed heavily before looking to Megatron with doubt in her eyes. Life was so terrible for her right now, she knew that she was falling fast and her landing would be rough and hard, unless someone stopped her fall. And the only one who could was Megatron, as much as she didn't want to admit it. And she knew he was there for her, he had no choice, he absolutely had to be if he didn't want to lose her and plummet back into the void.

_Shelter me from this again_

_Dedicated to the end _

_Help me break my conscience in _

_To free us from our innocence_

Mercy wondered what would happen if her and Megatron actually got along for once. They were so different, yet they were so alike that the android felt like they just didn't blend together, more appropriately, they bled together and fell together, and if they didn't learn to get along and set aside their differences, they would die together and return to the void still at each other's throats.

_I am losing you again _

_Let me out and let me in_

'_Cause you're not alone here _

_Not at all _

_Let me belong here _

_Break my fall_

Crash and burn, that's all Mercy and Megatron were going to do. They weren't in control of anything, and they were going to fall sooner or later.

_Mayday, mayday _

_Requesting permission to land _

_I cannot control the plane _

_We're in danger of crashing_

Megatron looked away from Mercy with a feeling that she was his end. If he couldn't change her, let alone force her into helping him, no one could. And he was completely and utterly doomed.

_I am losing you again _

_Let me out and let me in _

_'Cause you're not alone here _

_Not at all _

_Let me belong here _

_Break my fall_

"Mercy," came Megatron's deep and powerful voice, it was calm and unwavering, but it had a tint of anger in it.

_Break my fall_

Mercy slowly let her eyes wander back over to his now ever-familiar form.

_Break my fall_

"What is it Megatron?" she asked not knowing if she would like what he had to say or not.

_Break my fall_

Megatron looked back over to her and let oxygen came into his systems as he inhaled.

_Break my fall_

"We have to leave, neither of us can afford to stay here any longer. I don't know where we'd go, but any place is better than here at the moment," Megatron commanded, this proposal wasn't a suggestion anymore. Mercy scowled and turned away from him, "I'm not going anywhere Megatron, and it sounds like you're just afraid."

He clenched his teeth and tried his hardest to restrain himself from slapping her, "Mercy! I am not a coward! And if you think you're going to be proven innocent, you can just forget about it. Innocent or not, you're still going to be proven guilty."

"So what's the point in running? I'm just going to be caught eventually anyway."

Out of frustration, Megatron emancipated a deep anger-filled growl, "Don't you see, that's the difference between you and me, I can kill and get away with it while you can't!"

That was the final blow. Mercy whipped around to face him, her eyes seething with rage. She inhaled and grit her teeth before growling, "I didn't kill Brenna, and I'll leave now, but you're _not_ coming with me."

"Let's just see how far you get," he smirked pushing her into her room and locking the door.

The android yanked on the doorknob a couple times trying in vain to open the door, but Megatron had successfully locked it. Giving up, Mercy tried to abandon her anger and got dressed. _"A narrow escape,"_ she thought bitterly, _there's no escape for me."_ As Mercy tugged on her shirt, she glanced over to the window in her room and grinned, _"There is a narrow escape for me."_ The android quickly finished dressing herself and proceeded to slip on her shoes and a light coat. Going over to her window, Mercy opened it and quietly removed the screen. Then, carefully, she eased herself out the window and into the winter bitten world.

Without looking back, Mercy began her escape through the snow and to the shelter of the forest behind the house. As she walked, the android could hear imaginary water dripping, a splash, and than the roar of a furious current. It motivated her to move faster. With a grin on her face she thought, _"Goodbye, Master."_

She didn't realize her telepathic link was open.

* * *

Well, I'll leave it at that cliffhanger for now. I think I smell a little moment between Mercy and Megs in the next chapter….please review!! And before I forget, Break My Fall belongs to Breaking Benjamin and not me. Forgive me for any errors please...I wrote this when I was really tired.


	11. Hypothermia

Well, I'm updating this story too. Does anyone happen to know a RochGadsec87?

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**Chapter Eleven: Hypothermia**

The snowflakes fell so slowly, they were like wingless fairies dancing through the air. Mercy was about seventy-five yards into the forest now, and everything was dead looking. The only sound was the wind whistling through the treetops and the frozen earth crunching beneath the android's feet. Mercy wasn't exactly sure where she was going; it seemed like it had been ages since she last came out into that forest. When had been the last time she had come out here? It was with her father, he took her out to the river to teach her how to fish when she was only six years old.

A river.

Mercy stopped dead in her tracks. There was a river out here somewhere beneath the snow. Chances were it was swollen well above its banks and raging like any river would be in the spring time. But it was still winter, and there was still a good chance that the river was frozen over as well. Swallowing her fear back, the android slowly dragged one foot in front of the other and continued forward. There was no way she was going to let a river stop her from her escape.

Megatron got up from the couch angered since he had clearly heard Mercy 's message: _"Goodbye, Master."_ He hoped, for Mercy's sake, that she was only messing with his mind and that she was not really gone. If she was, when he found her, she would be going through a living hell. The decepticon leader's hope of finding Mercy in her room dimmed though with every step he took towards it.

He reached it, and slowly reached out to take the doorknob in his hand. When the cold metal hit his own metal hand, he swiftly unlocked the door and flung it open. The curtains were blowing into the room and the screen to the window lay abandoned on the floor. Both fear and rage immediately began pulsing through his circuits as he ran over to the window and found Mercy's footprints. From the looks of it, she had only been gone for a few minutes. "Primus," he breathed, "don't let anything happen to that girl."

He was afraid something would happen to her, something that would prove to be fatal to both of them. And he was angry because Mercy had defied his authority again.

Jumping through the window, Megatron flew through the frozen world following the android's trail. It could be a game of cat and mouse, Megatron the cat and Mercy the mouse.

_**"Ready or not Mercy, here I come."

* * *

**_

Mercy didn't need a second warning. When she heard Megatron's voice, she took off running into the forest. Though she had never seen Megatron fly before, she knew he could. And if the android didn't hurry, she was as good as caught. Tree roots and other unseen obstacles seemed to scatter out of Mercy's way, either they wanted to help, or they were afraid of upsetting the android. Mercy ran for what seemed like miles , unstopping, too afraid to stop and be found by her Master. The android was forced to a halt though when she came upon the river. The river, so alive and full of fury that Mercy could hear it screaming from beneath the ice that covered it. It was nearly deafened by the ice though, but the ice couldn't completely suppress its might. Glancing behind her swiftly, Mercy noticed that she had come deep into the forest and assumed that Megatron was only minutes behind her. The android knew she only had three options: give up, hide, or cross the river.

Mercy shuddered at the idea of giving up; that's the last thing she would do, and thus she immediately terminated that option. And then there was hiding, but that wouldn't work either, Megatron could easily follow her footprints and locate her. That left her with only one option remaining: to cross the river. The android knew she would have to bite back her fear of water in order to make it across, heck, she would have to risk her life on the thickness of the ice. If Mercy crossed the river safely, she could keep running and get out of the forest and hide. But if she fell through the ice, the icy water would cause her systems to freeze, which would immediately mean death. The android didn't have time to think about that now, Megatron was gaining on her and she had no more time to waste.

Shakily, she slid a foot out onto the ice and then slid her other foot up next to it. The ice held. With a bit of reassurance, Mercy took a couple more slow steps. There was no cracking, and the river wasn't that wide, it was only sixteen feet or so. With caution, Mercy advanced forward at a turtle's pace. Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest, out of fear and endurance to get to the other side. Slide this foot, and then the next, and repeat. That's how Mercy went, and before she knew it, she was nearly halfway across the river. The android knew she couldn't stop or else she could never make herself move forward again. She had to constantly tell herself that she was one step closer to safety with every step she took.

_GROAN, CRACK, SPLASH._

A sheet of ice collapsed downstream from Mercy and sunk into the freezing water. Mercy froze. What had she been thinking? Was it really worth risking her life to get away from Megatron? She must have had a momentary glitch to attempt a preposterous stunt like this. The android whimpered as her legs began to tremble from fright. She had to move, she just couldn't stand there and wait for death to come. No, she had about eight more feet to go, she could do it. Mercy closed her eyes and continued her shuffle across the ice.

_CRACK._

The android felt panic sear through her circuits as water, as cold as the sun is hot, began pooling around her feet. The ice she was currently walking across was thinner and couldn't hold her weight. Fear prevented her from moving, the freezing water held her feet prisoner to the ice. What was she to do? Stand there and die? Megatron would come too late, she had to force herself to move.

The android shifted her weight...and the ice crumpled beneath her. Mercy plummeted into the freezing depths of the roaring river.

She sank right down to the bottom and the current, hungry and eager, swallowed her whole. Mercy felt her head throb and realized she must have hit it on the ice as she fell in. Her body was scraped mercilessly along the sharp rocky bottom of the river. Twigs and other hazardous debris in the water slammed into her and then continued on downstream. The android tried with all the strength she could muster to plant her feet into the ground and stop herself from being dragged down the river anymore. Her strenuous efforts failed completely and miserably.

In a second attempt, Mercy began kicking her legs and waving her arms around; even if she couldn't swim, it was best to try to at least stay warm. The android felt herself slowly float to the surface of the water, but there was no surface, just ice. She began pounding her fists against it, trying to break it and grab hold of it. Mercy was moving too fast though, and her fists would just scrape along the icy surface. The freezing water hindered her movements anyway. Despite herself, the android began to shiver, calmly at first and then more violently.

All at once she could feel her systems start to freeze. The energon flowing through her circuits was beginning to feel like liquid ice. Mercy knew death was dawning upon her now, and she couldn't fight it away. She was going to die, and her and Megatron were going to take a one way trip to the void, to darkness, to solitude, to a world of _nothing._

Mercy was slammed against something suddenly. Her hair was entangled in something and she couldn't pull it free. Blindly, the android felt through the raging current and realized she had been pinned against a tree. The water wasn't flowing with her now, but against her. It had been against her since the very beginning. Mercy didn't bother to struggle, there wasn't any use in struggling. The water had already clearly won.

_**"Mercy, make this easier on yourself and tell me where in the pit you are."**_

The android felt her heart skip a beat. It was Megatron, a very angry and snarling Megatron, but Mercy couldn't have been happier to hear his devilishly wonderful voice. But when she tried to formulate her answer, she realized that he thoughts were delayed and her CPU was beginning to cease to function. If her CPU went, her heart and her life would leave the world hand in hand together.

Her thoughts stuttered but she managed to process, _"I fell into…a deep and…cold…hell."_

_**"What are you talking about? Are you injured?"**_

"_Condition for survival…quickly…deteriorating…death imminent."_ Mercy really had no control over that thought. It just came out, like her CPU was speaking for itself. She felt like a radio station, transmitting and receiving messages with absolutely no control.

_**"Quit fooling around Mercy! Where the slag are you?"**_

"_Fell…ice…cold…water…dying."

* * *

_

Megatron felt his mech-fluids churn. Was Mercy telling the truth or not? Was she really dying or not? He knew he couldn't risk not seeing if she was. He was terrified now, what if the android was telling the truth?

_**"Where are you Mercy?"**_

"_Dying…under the ice."_

That was it, Megatron didn't need anymore convincing. He flew faster along the trail of her footprints knowing he didn't have anytime to waste, _Mercy_ didn't have anymore time to waste. The decepticon leader couldn't lose her and be sent back to the void for all eternity. Fear and adrenaline pushed him ever faster forward.

_**"Stay with me Mercy…please, I'm coming."**_

"_Can't stay…awake."_

_**"Please Mercy, I swear I'm coming. Now talk to me, that's an order."**_

"_It's so cold…and dark…can't see."_

_**"Don't stop Mercy."**_

"_S-S-So cold…"_

_**"Mercy please!"**_

"_I-I-I'm s-s-sorry, M-Master…"_

He felt her connection die and knew she was unconscious. He didn't have much time now, only a few minutes.

_**"Mercy, please, please, please hold on."**_

Megatron realized he was begging…begging to Mercy, begging for Mercy.

* * *

It felt like an eternity had gone by before Megatron finally got to the river. He observed immediately that Mercy's footprints ended at a hole in the ice on the river. Knowing that he was more resistant to the cold than the android was, and that there was no time left to waste, Megatron dove through the ice and into the water. It was so dark beneath the ice, Megatron had to brighten his optic sensors just so he could see. Moving with the current, the decepticon leader desperately combed through the water looking for Mercy.

He wasn't sure how far he floated before he came across a fallen tree in the river before him. The decepticon leader tried to find a way around it, and as he looked, his optics fell upon Mercy. Elation stung its way through him as he rode the current over to her. Her limbs were stiff and felt like ice, and Megatron knew she was close to death. Quickly gathering her in his arms, he went to fly out of the river, but Mercy was pulled back. Megatron noticed Mercy's hair was caught tightly amongst the twigs on the tree. Without much thought, Megatron grabbed hold of her hair, and yanked. The twigs gave and Megatron burst through the ice with Mercy, flew above the treetops, and started flying as fast as he could back to the android's house.

* * *

By the time Megatron arrived back to the house and got Mercy inside, her hair was decorated in a heavy frost. Not to mention his own armor had frost formed on it as well. The decepticon leader disregarded the frost though, knowing he had to get Mercy warm. But how? He had to get her wet clothes off her first…and chances were pretty high she'd blow a circuit at him for that…if she survived.

He started carrying her to her bedroom, but he paused as he walked by the bathroom. The shower…if he put the water on the highest degree it could go, that might revive Mercy. Megatron then took Mercy into the bathroom and carefully laid her on the floor. Kneeling beside her, he tugged off her shoes and then her jeans--which was not an easy task since they were soaking wet--and then finally her jacket and shirt. Deciding not to embarrass Mercy any further, he left her bra and underwear on. She had chosen a good day to wear black undergarments.

Megatron then went to the shower and turned the water on to the hottest it could go. When the shower was ready, he took Mercy in his arms and went inside the shower with her. Megatron held Mercy up on her feet, but since she obviously couldn't stand without support, her body rested fully on his. Her body felt so cold, he could not decide if she was going to live or die. If Mercy had stayed a minute longer in that freezing water, Megatron knew he'd be back in the void right now.

And like the earth had melted away, Megatron suddenly saw himself holding Mercy inside the void. It was so familiar and so terrifying, he felt himself tense with unease. Had Mercy died? Was that why he was back here in the void now? Oh he hated death. He hated it completely and utterly, and not because it was painful, but because it was an end. Death meant never again talking to someone, never again trying to accomplish a dream, never again doing anything. And death was so cold…the void had no warmth whatsoever. And that's what Megatron hated about it…the void was a hell, but it wasn't any fiery abyss. It was hallow, nothing, just dark swirling masses of emptiness. There was no time and there was no escape. It was completely dark, darker than a night without a moon, and it was a terrible place to be sentenced to. An abyss…an abyss of nothing. But like waking up from a nightmare, Megatron looked around and saw that he was back in the shower with a still lifeless Mercy.

_**"Wake up Mercy, please wake up."**_

The android did nothing; she didn't flinch, breathe, make any sort of noise or anything. Megatron feared that at any moment he would find himself floating back through the void, still dead, with no way of living again. The decepticon leader didn't know how else to get the android warm. He clenched his teeth as "if only's" began running through his head. If only I had paid closer attention to Mercy. If only I hadn't locked her in her room. _If only I hadn't acted as such a tyrant._

Megatron looked down at her, her head was resting on his chest. She looked peaceful, and Megatron supposed death could make anyone look at peace if it chose to. The decepticon leader sighed heavily. There was no way he could revive Mercy, and thus prepared for his return to the void.

_**"Mercy I'm…Mercy I'm sorry."**_

Without warning, Mercy suddenly coughed and vomited freezing cold river water down Megatron's front. He was appalled, but at the same time elated. But his concern returned when Mercy began to shiver quite violently.

Pulling her closer to him, he asked, "Are you alright?"

"J-J-Jusssst freez-z-zing c-c-cold," she replied quietly, "Am I-I n-naked?"

Megatron smirked, "No. Let's just get you out of here and dried off."

Mercy shook her head and grasped his armor tighter. "N-No," she trembled, "I don't want t-to fall b-back into the river."

Megatron wasn't sure if she had lost perceptual contact with the environment or was hallucinating as he said, "Calm down Mercy, you're back home. You're no where near the river." He then leaned over and turned the shower off.

Mercy slowly and shakily let go of Megatron and pulled back the shower curtain. Grabbing a towel, she wrapped it around herself and then turned back to Megatron, who had exited the shower as well. "Can you help me?" she asked quietly.

"With what?"

"Could you get-t-t me s-some clothes? I d-don't-t care if they match or n-not, I just-t want something warm."

Sighing, Megatron pushed by Mercy and left the bathroom. Mercy thought for sure she had upset him, that he wasn't going to come back with clothes and that she'd have to get warm by herself. And she knew her systems were still trying to recover and begging for warmth…if she didn't get help from him, she'd feel cold for a long time, and she hated being cold. Just as her irrationality and poor judgment were just about to make her burst into tears, Megatron returned to the bathroom with a pile of clothes in hand.

She took the clothes and watched with tears in her eyes as he left the room and shut the door behind him. Mercy then blinked away the tears and quickly dried herself off with the towel. Digging through the clothes, she saw Megatron had gotten her a plain gray sweatshirt with black wind pants that had a red stripe down the side. He had also gotten her a plain red long-sleeved shirt. He had gotten her a pair of wool socks, and Mercy hadn't even known that she owned wool socks. Megatron even remembered her undergarments. For a moment it made her wonder: _does he really care?_

Though shaking and stumbling, it didn't take Mercy that long to get dressed. Once she had her dry clothes on, the android turned to the mirror only to see her hair was a complete disaster. Twigs and leaves had been woven into her hair so tightly, it felt like forever had gone by before she finally got one twig out. Not to mention her stiff, shaking hands were making the task nearly impossible. It didn't take her too long to become frustrated to the point of tears. She madly blinked them back and continued the endless fuss with her hair. Not realizing she had been in the bathroom for nearly forty-five minutes, it surprised the android when Megatron suddenly knocked on the door and asked, "Are you dressed?"

"Yes."

Without permission, the decepticon leader entered the bathroom and saw Mercy trying futilely to tame her wild mane. He made as if he rolled his optics and walked up to Mercy. The android watched him in the mirror as he picked up her brush and then said, "Come, this bathroom is much too cramped for me."

Mercy looked to him with uncertainty written upon her face. And then a phenomenon occurred. It was barely noticeable, but Megatron gave a small smile; not an evil smile, but one of understanding. Mercy felt numb, but not from her nearly frozen systems. _Is that sympathy in his optics?_

"Alright, I'll testify right now, I've never held one of these instruments you call a brush before, and I most certainly have never done anyone's hair because where I'm from, nobody has hair. So, since you're too cold to do your own disastrous hair, I will, and if turns out like hell…by the time I'm done with it, it'll look a lot better than the style you're showcasing currently," explained the decepticon leader.

Mercy couldn't help but smile as she said in response, "I didn't n-need a ssspeech."

Megatron shook his head in compliance, "No you didn't. You're a brilliant girl, you would've assumed all that."

"What did I t-t-tell you about-t assume?" questioned Mercy and then she added, "And was t-that a c-c-compliment?"

"No, I was lying," Megatron replied sarcastically causing Mercy to roll her eyes. He smirked and then put an arm around the android's shoulders and led her out into the living room.

Mercy felt blind and dazed by this treatment she was receiving from him. It was so unlike Megatron, and so entirely out of his character that Mercy was left to believe some good spirit had suddenly possessed him. But how long would that good spirit stay? Probably not for long, not once it saw all the evil the decepticon leader had living inside of him.

Megatron directed Mercy over to the recliner chair. He took a seat in it and motioned for Mercy to sit between his legs. The android hesitated for a few moments before she slowly took her appointed seat on the chair. Megatron knew that in order to get the brush through Mercy's hair, he would have to remove all the debris from the purple locks first. Gently--a word the decepticon leader is not normally associated with--Megatron began freeing the tangled strands from twigs and leaves. It didn't take him more than fifteen minutes to complete the task, and then he took the brush in hand. Starting at the bottom of her hair, Megatron eased the brush through it. A few snarls tried to halt his progress, but it wasn't long before the decepticon leader had tamed the end of Mercy's hair. He then moved to the roots, and it wasn't too long before he had brushed out all of Mercy's hair.

Setting the brush on the coffee table next the chair--where the twigs and other debris from Mercy's hair currently laid--Megatron relaxed back into the chair. He pulled Mercy onto his lap and held her against him. He reclined the chair and sighed, "Let me know if this isn't doing enough to warm you. You've only got me concerned because you're still shivering quite violently."

_Concerned?_

"Well," said Mercy, "a blanket-t or t-two would be n-nice."

"You could've told me that before I got comfortable."

_Comfortable?_

"I c-can get them m-myself," Mercy stated sitting up and climbing out of the chair.

Megatron watched her go down the hallway and return a few seconds later with two fleece blankets. Mercy went to go settle herself on the couch until Megatron cleared his throat and motioned for her to come to him. The android realized that Megatron wanted her to use the heat from his body to get warm. Either that or he had totally lost his mind and wanted to physically feel her presence around him. Without much of an option, Mercy resettled herself against Megatron as he pulled the blankets over them.

Though the android felt out of her element and zone of comfort, she felt strangely at peace. Like she had gained a new acceptance or a goal she had been struggling to reach. And it prompted her to ask, "Are you c-cold too?"

"A bit. I'm more resistant to the cold than you are."

"You know…you're not the most comfortable thing to be lying against."

She heard Megatron smirk, "No, I suppose not."

There was a long pause before Mercy finally blurted, "Aren't you mad at me?"

"Mercy--

"I'm sorry M-Megatron, please d-don't yell," she exclaimed as tears began to leak out of her eyes, "I should've listened to you from th-the b-beginning and I never should have t-tested your authority. But please d-don't yell at me or hurt me anymore."

"Mercy, calm down. Yes I'm mad, but I think you learned your lesson on your own this time. I'm not going to yell and I'm not going to hurt you."

"Oh Megatron," she sobbed into his chest, "The water was so d-dark and it was so c-cold. And I was so scared, I thought for sure I was g-going to die, but you saved me, whether it was for y-your own personal gain or not, I don't care. _You saved my life._"

It was then Megatron recognized how lucky he was to be coming back to life through Mercy. Any other human female would have been terrified into submission by him, and should would've done everything he had said. It would be so boring, dull, lame. Heck, Megatron could've been stuck coming back though a human male, which would have been interesting as well, but somehow it didn't settle well with his "stomach." Even worse, he could've come back through a human older than the hills or a newborn. The decepticon leader shuddered at the thought.

But he had been blessed with Mercy. Mercy, who _didn't_ fear him in the least, who _didn't_ respect his authority, who _didn't_ know how to learn the lesson, who was evil, who kept things interesting, who stood up for what she believed. She was so smart, and she knew _how_ to feel. She could smile, she could pout, she could yell, she could stutter, and she wasn't afraid to cry. And Megatron could only do some of these things. He lost any heart that he may have had so long ago. War had destroyed him, most likely changed him into something he was not. Though he did not mind who he was, he was not proud of what he had become.

"You're welcome, Mercy."

Mercy felt his hand gently stroke through her hair. The android wasn't exactly sure how, but she knew Megatron was showing a side of himself that hardly anyone has seen. Only an exceptional few, perhaps close comrades or friends, possibly any lovers that he had had. But Mercy wasn't sure what category she fell into. Was she a comrade? Was she a friend? Was she more than all those? Or was she less than all that?

She had to satisfy her curiosity and therefore asked, "Megatron, how do you view me?"

"How do I view you?" he repeated letting his optics go offline.

"You know, like a friend."

"Well…" he trailed off to think about what to say, and after a few minutes replied, "I don't think there is a word in existence that could describe our relationship. We fight, we get along, we fall apart, we fall together, we understand, we don't understand. Look at this morning, look at us now. I'd have to say we're cooperative enemies."

Mercy smirked as she rested her head under his chin and remarked, "Talk about an oxymoron."

"I guess so. What do you say we move to a more comfortable place before I fall asleep?"

"If you insist."

"Alright then…your bed is big enough."

"Big enough?" questioned Mercy.

"For us," Megatron replied noticing that Mercy's shivering had died down a bit.

The android looked up at him like he couldn't be serious and Megatron smirked seeing her expression and said, "You worry at the thought of lying in the same bed with me, but you don't protest over the position we're in now."

She sighed, "I guess you've got a point."

The decepticon leader didn't say anything and proceeded to sit up in the chair, Mercy forced to move with him. He then took the android in his arms and carried her to her room. He laid her on the inside of the bed and then he laid down himself pulling the blankets over them. The decepticon leader noticed that Mercy slept with a lot of blankets, for security and warmth most likely. Megatron was just to settle into a comfortable position when Mercy inquired, "Um...are you going to leave the window open?"

Megatron looked at the window that was still missing the screen and which cold air was leaking through. Frowning, he got up from the bed and shut the window not even bothering with the screen. He then got back in the bed beside Mercy and covered back up. The android was lying on the side of the bed next to the wall, and she had always liked sleeping closer to the wall. If she slept without a wall next to her, she was always afraid she would fall off her bed. But now she had Megatron on the other side of her to completely prevent her from falling off the bed...and it felt odd. She rolled over on her side so that she was facing the wall.

It felt like they were sharing everything now...they were sharing the same house, the same room, the same bed, the same blankets, the same pillow, and the same life. And now...it felt like they were making progress in some unknown goal, it felt like they were getting closer together even though neither of them cared to get that close to the other.

Mercy felt Megatron's arms snake around her waist and pull her directly against him. He was facing her...looking at her...she could feel his optics staring into her back. She listened as he shifted and a shiver ran down her spine when she felt his breath hit the back of her head. Mercy slowly rolled over and looked at Megatron who was looking down at her. He looked angry and she went to sit up, but Megatron's hand caught her shoulder and held her firmly where she was. Her heart beat increased as she listened to the decepticon leader's hand drag so slowly from her shoulder, along her sweater, and to her exposed neck. Cupping her cheek in his hand, he leaned forward so that his face seemed only a breath away. His other arm held her so close to him, the android felt like she had the protection of a thousand armies. And slowly...ever so slowly, she could feel her frozen systems warming.

"Don't runaway again, not without me," breathed Megatron with utmost affection and compassion, and so close to the android that his lips grazed along Mercy's as he said it.

Her bottom lip quivered and she buried her head beneath Megatron's chin, sobbing.

* * *

And so ends this chapter...please review and no flames!


	12. Runaway

Well, it's about time I was able to update. School is such a drag, but I'm off until January second when I have to go back, but anyways, I plan on updating all my stories, starting with this one. So, enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Twelve: Runaway**

Monday morning came too fast for Mercy...exceptionally fast. It was like Sunday never happened, but it was this morning in particular that the android did not want to go to school. Nobody wants to go to school, many teachers don't, and especially the students. But Mercy couldn't help but feel that something dreadful was going to happen, she could feel the uncertainty swelling and pulsing in her abdomen, and it was starting to twist her nerves into a knot, a sickeningly tight knot. As she brushed her hair in the bathroom mirror, she thought about asking Megatron if she could stay home. There was no telling what he would think, but she knew for sure that he'd ask what was going on and Mercy didn't know what to tell him. Setting the brush on the bathroom sink, she looked at herself in the mirror.

Suddenly she saw herself wearing an orange prison suit and standing in front of camera holding up a sign as the police took her picture. The officer at the camera took the picture without warning and Mercy was blinded for a few seconds before her vision came back in wonderfully annoying blots of pink, green, blue, and purple. Mercy blinked furiously a couple times and then realized she was still in her bathroom, her hands gripping the edge of the sink tightly. Nothing had changed...she hadn't gone anywhere, she was still home, she was still safe.

Turning away from the mirror, she looked to the door only to see Megatron standing in the door frame with his arms crossed. Mercy felt a breath catch in her throat and had to swallow in order to snap herself back from surprise. Ever since Saturday...when she had nearly drowned...she didn't view Megatron the same way. She respected him now, that was a given...but there was something else there...friendship maybe...it was what she felt with Brenna...only stronger.

"Is everything alright?" Megatron questioned though he sounded like even if Mercy told him something was wrong, he wouldn't care.

"I'm fine," she replied, her voice quiet.

Megatron raised an optic ridge and then said, "If you say so...let's go."

She nodded and watched as Megatron walked away and to the kitchen. Mercy glanced at herself in the mirror one last time and then left the bathroom where she met the decepticon leader in the kitchen. She grabbed her backpack and put it on the table where she a put a few books inside. As she was about to zip it shut, Megatron handed her a small piece of paper. The android took it and read it, finding out it was a note to the attendance office explaining her absence on Friday. Forgetting that she had needed this, she thanked Megatron and put it in her pocket. She could feel Megatron's optics burning into her as she went to the closet to grab her coat. As she put the coat on, she looked to the decepticon only to catch his fiery blue gaze. Feeling uncomfortable, she looked down as she did the zipper and pulled her hair out from underneath the coat. He was still watching her as she looked up and she scowled saying, "Stop staring."

"What's wrong?"

The android had forgotten that Megatron was an expert body language reader. She didn't have to open her mouth and verbally give him the clue that something was wrong, he could just look at her and know. The android knew he was too smart for his own good. Walking back over to the table and grabbing her closed backpack she replied, "It doesn't matter." And she went to the door and left the house.

Megatron went invisible and followed close behind though Mercy couldn't tell since she couldn't see him. **_"If you ask me, you seem a bit more paranoid than usual." _**

"_What gives you that clue? I'm not the one staring at me."_

_**"No...what's bothering you?"**_

"_I just feel like something is going to happen...something bad."_

_**"Don't tell me you've been experimenting with ESP while I haven't been watching. Mercy, it's just school, what could possibly happen at that bore fest?"**_

"_For your information, sir, it's more of a germ fest than boring."_

_**"I didn't ask for your opinion, android."**_

Mercy hated how he was still so mean to her. He acted as if Saturday never happened...well...as if Saturday afternoon and night had never happened. Sunday morning, well, there really wasn't one. When Mercy had woken up, Megatron was already up and in the kitchen. From the dreary expression that had been on his face that morning, she knew that he hadn't stayed with her all night...not even close to all night.

_**"Mercy, are you going to tell me or not?"**_

"_There's nothing to tell."_

And the decepticon leader didn't say anything in reply. She knew Megatron wouldn't be left in doubt for long either, he would find out what was wrong with her. Mercy didn't know what to say though...she just had that nagging feeling that just wouldn't go away, and for the second time in her life, she was really worried and so glad to have Megatron with her.

The android sighed heavily as the school came into view. She carefully crossed the street and cut across the school parking lot and went over to the door where she entered. Mercy headed up to her locker feeling sick with anticipation. The stairs seemed even steeper this morning, and it felt like forever had gone by before she finally made it up them. Her locker seemed to appear before her and she fumbled with the lock trying to get the combination right so she could open her locker. She messed up and had to try again...and again...and yet again.

Mercy kicked her locker in frustration causing a couple of the students to look at her and then return to their conversations. She hated this. There was no doubt Megatron was watching every movement she was making, and no doubt being utterly convinced that something was wrong with her. There was no telling though if he was watching her with a sick amusement or with angry embarrassment. Cheeks flushed with fury, Mercy tried the lock one last time.

Her locker popped open.

Sighing, she put her backpack inside and then grabbed her chemistry book, binder, and a pencil. She slammed her locker shut trying to get some revenge on it for upsetting her and making her look like a fool. Satisfied for the first time that morning, Mercy then headed to the attendance office. Once inside, she gave the secretary the note Megatron wrote explaining her absence. The secretary glanced at the note before scribbling something down on a piece of paper and gave the paper to her. Mercy didn't even bother to glance at it as she crumpled it inside her pocket and left the office.

She then went to her homeroom, where she sat down at her desk and sighed...fifteen minutes soon passed...and Mercy found herself walking through the halls making her way to chemistry. Out of all her classes, chemistry was the one she hated the most. And when she entered the room, she had another image flash through her CPU of prison. Mercy paused in the doorway for a moment before she finally convinced herself to move forward and collapse into her seat.

_**"Mercy..."**_

His voice was a powerful whisper...and the android shivered. She felt like she was going to cry, something terrible was going to happen, she could feel it in the air, she could smell it, taste it, she only had yet to hear it and see it.

_**"You're scared..."**_

"_Megatron..."_

Her thoughts were flooding into Megatron's head as whimpers. She couldn't help it. She felt like she was drowning in the river again...and when the bell rang, she nearly jumped out of her skin causing some of her classmates to laugh and violently snap her back into reality. "_Calm down,_ she told herself, _just calm down."_

Mr. Marx started class and Mercy couldn't pay attention to him, no matter how hard she tried. The only things that had her attention were the clock, the doorway, and the empty hall. A student shuffled and Mercy jumped again, but not as grandly as she had when the bell had rang. This was going to be a long class...longer than usual for a Monday morning. And Mercy dreaded with each second that passed that she was one second closer to finding out what was in store for her that day.

Suddenly there was a footstep on the stairs and the android felt a thorn of panic prick at her heart. Mercy listened carefully and soon heard more footsteps...more footsteps than what belonged to one person...there was at least two or three people coming up the stairs. And they weren't talking, there was absolutely no chatter between them. They couldn't have been students, students would have been chatting their lives away, stomping carefree up the stairs until a teacher came out and yelled at them for disrupting their class.

_**"Mercy, prepare yourself, your superintendent and two police officers are coming up the stairs, there's no doubt that they're here to see you."**_

Mercy knew what was going to happen, and it slipped out of her mouth accidentally, "They're going to arrest me."

Her classmates along with Mr. Marx gave her confused looks until Mr. Clarkson and two police officers appeared behind him in the doorway. Mercy swallowed and felt the knot had moved up to her throat, trying to choke her, and she almost wished it would.

"Mercy LeCroix," said one of the policemen as he stepped into the classroom, "You are under arrest for the murder of Brenna Meyers."

He took out a pair of handcuffs and caused Mercy to slowly get up from her seat. The policeman made a careful advance on her saying, "You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

Mercy tried backing away, but something was behind her preventing her from going anywhere. A familiar surface...a surface she had rested against before.

"_Megatron?"_

_**"Don't say anything Mercy...nothing at all."**_

And before Mercy could say anything in reply, Megatron was no longer behind her. Her safety felt gone, though she had never really felt safe, and she felt vulnerable. What if Megatron had abandoned her? What if he allowed her to be arrested? There was no telling what Megatron had planned, what his evil mind had scheming. Without warning, the silver handcuffs that were in the officer's hands were thrown to the back of the chemistry lab...and Megatron appeared, to everyone.

Everyone but Mercy gasped, and everyone but Mercy was confused and startled by what was now standing in the center of the room. The android was awed nonetheless that Megatron was doing this...revealing himself to everyone...protecting her.

"W-What are you?" the police officer asked bewildered.

"It doesn't matter," Megatron replied and causing the officer to jump.

No one had expected this robot to talk...fluently...in English. And the officer took a step back when Megatron's hand began to pulse with blue electricity. The second police officer took out his gun and opened fire upon Megatron. Students screamed and some cowered under their desks.

Megatron narrowed his optics at the officer and looked around the room. His optics fell on Brittany Smith and a wicked grin appeared on his face. Grabbing her by her blonde hair, he lifted her from her seat. "You," he said, "You were the one I didn't like."

"H-How do you know me?" stuttered the prep girl.

"Through Mercy, now, you'll never speak to her again, understand?"

"Yes," she whimpered.

"Good," he replied and pressed his electrified fist against her.

Time froze as Brittany screamed and then Megatron dropped her to the tile floor, lifeless and unmoving...her shirt melted to her side. Megatron then looked to Mercy who was wide-eyed with fright and amusement. She looked back at him and breathed, "Megatron..."

"I told you not to speak Mercy."

The second police officer jumped all over this saying, "Mercy, you know this machine...this...monstrosity! And you kept it from us, from the public! Is he the one who killed Brenna?"

Megatron rushed at the officer and grabbed him by the throat saying, "Killed Brenna? No, Mercy was the one who did that, but I, I will be the one to kill _you_, understand? Take your rotten comrade and leave now!"

The officer swallowed hard and shakily lifted his gun, firing into Megatron's abdomen. Megatron felt the bullet dent his armor, heard it bounce off, and smiled gleefully when the officer grimaced, blood slowly dripping onto the floor.

Satisfied, Megatron dropped him and went back over to Mercy, gathered her in his arms, and burst out through the window into the wintry world.

"Mercy, I hope you understand that we _have _to run now, you can't possibly go home."

"I understand."

"Why were you so worked up this morning?"

"I had a feeling something like this would happen."

Megatron only smirked, disappearing before anyone else saw him, and landed on the ground. He took Mercy's hand and they began to run. The law was behind them and they had to escape.

* * *

The uninjured police officer immediately called for backup explaining that an officer and civilian were down, and both needed immediate medical attention. On the other hand, Mr. Clarkson had ordered an immediate lock down of the school. Everyone was to stay where they were and not leave under any circumstances.

No one knew how to explain what had just happened...and nobody really wanted to know. When the officer had explained what had happened to Mercy, he was answered with silence. His last words to the dispatch were, "Don't let the media know about this."

* * *

Megatron led Mercy to the fairgrounds. He had picked this area as a place for a temporary and quick hideout a while ago, and he was glad he did. Glancing around, he concluded that no one was watching them...well, Mercy since she would be all anyone could see. The decepticon led the android over to the abandoned cow barn and paused. How were they supposed to get it in without it looking like someone had broke in?

Mercy nudged him and pointed to a broken window on the side of the barn, just big enough for the two of them to squeeze in through. Megatron and her went over to it, and the decepticon leader helped Mercy through before he went through himself. The android glanced around looking for some place that looked sanitary to sit. She finally decided on the far corner where there was a pile of dry hay that looked fresh...enough.

The decepticon leader watched Mercy for a moment and then said, "Be careful of rats and other vermin."

"Right, what about our footprints?"

"Don't worry, we're leaving here in the morning. I'm not sure where we're going to go yet, but we're getting as far out of this town as possible," he explained, "Be prepared to leave here at a moments notice."

"I will be."

"Good, now try and get some rest, it might be a while before you sleep again."

"What about you?"

Megatron glanced at her before looking to the door, "Just go to sleep."

Mercy leaned back against the hay, as itchy and uncomfortable as it was. It was cold in the barn though...and even when she dozed off, her sleep was extremely light because of her shivering. During one of these periods of her light sleep, she woke since Megatron was putting a blanket over her that he had found in the barn. Mercy went to thank him, but he walked away before she got the chance. She tried to go back to sleep, but the blanket was threadbare, and she had a difficult time since she was still shivering. The android felt sleep heavy on her eyes and was just about to doze off when she heard Megatron walk back over to her.

"You're temperature control system must have been damaged at some point," Megatron said and looked down at her.

"Or you didn't do a good job making it," she replied, her voice husky with tiredness.

Megatron smirked, "And I suppose I should just leave it broken now."

"Master...please..." she tried to plead, she just wanted to sleep comfortably.

"Damn you Mercy, I'm going to be picking hay out of my joints for weeks because of this," he remarked settling himself beside her and pulling her tightly against him.

She rolled over so she was facing him and rested her head under his chin, "Thank you, Megatron." And she fell asleep, her shivering subsiding.

Megatron lightly shook his head. Mercy's skin was warm, and after being cold for so long, Megatron didn't realize how good it felt to be warm again. His optics flared online. Something was happening between him and Mercy, something he didn't know, and something he was sure as hell he didn't want to happen. He had to come back to life soon, the sooner he and Mercy were apart, the better. Megatron refused to allow their relationship to get any closer than it already was, after tonight, anything like this was never going to happen again. And he would make sure of it...even if there was a part of him screaming at him not to. He couldn't listen.

"_I am Megatron, leader of the decepticons,"_ he thought, _"And I belong to **nobody**."_

* * *

Well, now you'll have to wait for chapter thirteen. Until then could you give me the best Christmas present ever...a review? Thank you all! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!


	13. Road Test

Ok...just how long has it been since I updated this story? (checks to see when last updated) Oops...heh heh...it's been over a month. So yeah, I owe this to you guys. I had a snow day yesterday to type this up...I'm planning on updating one more story, probably Sonnets since omg it's been forever since I last updated that one.

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**Chapter Thirteen: Road Test**

Mercy woke up the next morning unbearably cold and itchy. The hay was interfering with her touch sensors miserably, and she had to get up before she was driven insane...if she wasn't already insane. She went to roll onto her back, but bumped into something; that's when she remembered Megatron had been there to keep her warm and help her get to sleep. He groaned softly and he tightened his grasp around her waist. Mercy was confused for a moment, but she shoved her confusion aside and sat up, getting up from Megatron's embrace. Once standing, she brushed excess hay from her hair and glanced back at the decepticon leader only to see he was still asleep.

Shaking her head, Mercy stretched while yawning, and tried to decide on something to do until Megatron woke up. She desperately wanted to get out of the barn, it didn't smell good at all, and she was cold. She wanted to warm up and go home and sleep in her bed, but she couldn't. Mercy knew she could wake Megatron up to keep herself from being bored, but she thought better of it. A grumpy Megatron wasn't the best thing to deal with in the morning, especially when you were in hiding and trying not to be heard or seen.

She sighed, and decided once again to try and remember the name of the man who killed Brenna. It seemed no matter how many times she replayed the scene from the murder in her mind, the name would not come to her. It was frustrating beyond belief; being innocent but unable to prove it. _Innocent until proven guilty..._not this time...she was guilty until proven innocent. She couldn't convince Megatron at all, he had put it in his blood that she had murdered Brenna, but it wasn't true. And she didn't know how to prove it to him. How could she prove that she didn't steal the gun? How could she prove that she didn't fire the gun? How in the world could she get _anyone_ to believe she wasn't guilty?

Mercy closed her eyes and concentrated on the murder again. She didn't hear Megatron stir as she opened her eyes and projected the entire murder from her eyes like a movie, from where Brenna and her were talking, to when she had watched Brenna die...but it cut out right when Brenna was going to tell her who shot the gun. Mercy squeezed her eyes closed and tried to keep from slamming her fist into something.

"How did you do that?" Megatron asked suddenly.

The android jumped and looked over to the decepticon leader who was standing a few feet from her. "When did you wake up?" she inquired surprised.

"Right when you did whatever you just did," Megatron explained, "What did you do?"

"I guess I can project memories from my eyes," she said, "Including Brenna's murder."

"Show me again."

Mercy sighed and showed the "movie" of the murder again, hoping that somehow it would show her innocence to Megatron. Once through it a second time, the decepticon leader wondered, "Can you do it with sound?"

"I don't know," Mercy replied, not sure how she would accomplish that. She couldn't do it through her audio receptors...they didn't produce sound, they received it. Maybe...through her mouth. Mercy projected the murder from her eyes again, and this time opened her mouth, and the sounds and voices from the murder blared out.

Megatron watched again, and listened, not sure what to make of the whole thing. He hadn't ever seen someone do this, and he wasn't sure if Mercy had made it up or not. She had said it had been her memories...maybe there was a way he could test that. When Mercy had finished showing the murder with sound, he said, "You said that you can project your memories."

"Yes," she answered, suspicious.

"Well, I want to know if you're lying, because you are a liar."

Mercy glared at him before responding, "Why should I bother trying to prove if I made this up? You've already convinced yourself that I committed the murder."

"That's true too," he replied.

"And even if I were to prove it to you that what I just showed you was a memory, you'd still say I made it up."

"You know me all to well," Megatron smirked, "But, does that mean you can't prove it to me?"

Mercy rethought what she had said and rolled her eyes. She wasn't going to bother arguing with him, it'd just be a waste of breath. Instead, she turned away from him and simply said, "One of these days you'll regret not believing me."

Megatron shook his head and was just about to say something when suddenly a police siren blared a single time outside. Both Mercy and the decepticon leader snapped their attention to the door of the barn where they heard car doors open and shut and footsteps from police officers. Then there was a muffled voice that said, "So, Mercy was seen here?"

"According to a witness in the area, they saw her run through here, by this barn."

"When?"

"Yesterday."

"So why didn't we come yesterday?"

"Because the person didn't call until this morning."

"People in this town are so slow at reporting things."

"Just be quiet and let's look around."

The two police officers tried the doors to the barn only to discover they were locked and then Mercy and Megatron heard there footsteps head away from the door and towards the window. The android looked to the decepticon leader who said, "We're leaving now, we don't have a choice."

Mercy didn't have a chance to ask how as she watched Megatron transform into a car. She looked at him completely baffled afterwards. She had no idea he could do that, she thought the wheels on him had been for accessory...not that he needed them. His cockpit opened, and he demanded, "Mercy, get in."

She walked over to him and just as she was about to get in, a police officer appeared in the window that she and Megatron had used to enter the barn the day before. The police officer, who was a woman, looked into the barn and immediately noticed her and exclaimed, "There she is! You, Mercy, don't move!"

Mercy looked up from Megatron and over to the window where the female officer held her gun; it was aimed directly at the android. She felt a tingle of fear travel down her back and shifted to get into the decepticon leader, but stopped when the woman officer hollered, "I said don't move!"

Megatron's voice came in Mercy's head, and he said in an anxious voice, _**"Mercy, get in."**_

"_I really don't want to be shot."_

"_**It'll only sting for a moment, you'll be alright, now get in."**_

While Mercy had noticeably been distracted, the policewoman made her way through the window with the help of her partner. Now inside the barn, she once again pointed her gun at the girl and shouted, "Now, put your head on the hood of the car and your hands behind you!"

Mercy glanced at Megatron and then turned her attention to the policewoman and said, "Don't you think his hood is a little low to the ground?"

"Don't you be asking me questions...and what do you mean by his?" the woman answered in a confused tone.

Mercy realized that the police officers who had seen Megatron must have kept him hush-hush to prevent panic from the citizens in the town. Apparently they hadn't told anyone within the police station either for fear that even one of them might slip the information of a walking, talking, alien robot...fluent in the American tongue. And she had a feeling the decepticon leader would punish her if she told anyone else that he existed...not that she had told anyone but Brenna. But still. Mercy made another move towards Megatron.

"Don't even try getting in the car!" growled the woman, hands firmly on the gun.

Mercy could see the officer was excited, scared, and agitated all at once. Apparently the woman had never done this kind of thing before. The android glanced over to the window where she saw the other officer, this one a male, positioned with his gun faced to her, and ready to shoot if the moment presented itself. Indeed she was trapped...but she had a narrow escape.

Not thinking twice, Mercy moved swiftly and gracefully into Megatron, he shut the cockpit just as a couple bullets pinged off his armor. Mercy saw the woman making an advance towards them, and the other officer had gone...most likely to call for backup. "Let's get out of here," she exclaimed and waited for Megatron to go.

She heard as he went to start his engine...but nothing happened. He then groaned with obvious frustration and stated, "Mercy, I don't have enough energy to power my own vehicle mode yet."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she asked annoyed and fear gnawing at her.

Megatron growled from her remark saying, "It means you're going to have to drive!"

"WHAT?!" Mercy cried, "Megatron, I've never driven anything in my life! Especially not some alien freakish car!"

"Shut up," Megatron replied angrily and lowered a restraining bar over her, "Now is a good time to learn."

Mercy looked at the steering wheel in front of her...even though it wasn't a wheel...it was the kind that they had in air planes, the semi-circle arcs that were accompanied by a lot of buttons. Lucky, there weren't many buttons inside Megatron...well...there were, but she doubted they were for driving purposes. She tested her foot on the brake and on the gas pedal a few times before she asked, "How do I start you up?"

"Feel under the seat, there should be a secret compartment under there where the key is kept."

Mercy groped her hand underneath the seat and finally found a small handle that opened up a little compartment. She took out the key from the compartment and inserted it in the ignition. By this time, the policewoman was pounding on the cockpit of the car, and Mercy tried hard to ignore her. "Now what?" she asked frantically.

"Put your foot on the brake, turn the key to the right, pull the gear shift back to drive," Megatron explained.

Mercy pressed her foot hard on the brake, she quickly turned the key to the right and listened as Megatron's vehicle form started up. The gear shift was located beside her, there was only one seat in the decepticon leader, and she had it. Slowly, she pulled the gear shift back to the D for drive and then firmly grasped the steering wheel with both hands.

"Okay Mercy, you're good to go...try not to get us killed."

She bit her bottom lip and eased her foot off the break. Megatron inched forward slowly...and Mercy lightly, as lightly as she possibly could, put her foot on the gas pedal, and the vehicle suddenly jumped forward at 10 miles an hour.

"Mercy, you're going to have to go a lot faster than this if you plan on breaking through that door," Megatron explained, "Just floor it!"

Mercy wanted to squeeze her eyes shut as she pressed down on the gas pedal...all the way to the floor. Megatron's vehicle form roared forward and smashed through the wooden barn door that had been chained shut. Mercy slammed on the brakes as soon as they had completely made it through, and sighed heavily to release the fear that had built up inside her. "What happened to that woman?" Mercy asked quietly not knowing what else to say.

A screen suddenly appeared on the side of the cockpit and showed the woman getting up who had apparently jumped out of the way. Mercy didn't look at her long as her attention suddenly turned to police cars that were entering the park from the main entrance and the back entrance.

"Mercy, why did you stop! Now look, we're trapped!"

"No we're not!" Mercy replied, "There's another way out of here."

"Well get moving!"

Mercy pressed her foot on the gas pedal, this time going about 30mph even though the speed limit inside the park was 10mph. She made a sloppy turn to the left, hitting the snow bank and almost getting stuck; if she hadn't pressed down on the gas pedal a bit more then she would've been. Mercy then continued straight ahead towards another barn located away from a baseball field. The road turned to gravel there, and also made a turn to the right. She was heading for the racetrack until she got on another road...a path more than a road, that headed over to the school bus garage. The android glanced over to the screen that was still visible on the side of the cockpit and instead of showing the woman, it showed a few police cars a little ways behind her. She pressed on the gas pedal more, her speed nearly 45mph now, and she was nearly struggling to stay on the road. Finally, she made it to the bus garage parking lot, and over to the street, called Corner Street. She stopped near the road and checked for cars coming.

"Megatron, how do I use the turning signals?"

"Don't even bother with those. Just go before the police catch us."

And Mercy pressed on the gas and sped onto the road, heading towards town. She went up the road and saw as the light turned red right as she was coming close to it. Glancing at the screen again, Mercy saw the cops were gaining on her now, and she made the split second decision to run the red light. One car narrowly missed her as she billowed through the intersection at the end of the street and made a wide left turn to head into the heart of the town. Not caring now, Mercy pressed her foot down on the gas even more and was going 53mph in a 30mph zone.

She was approaching another intersection, but the light was green and she went right through. She pulled into the lane to turn left since no one was in it, and she approached the next intersection where the light was red, and this one was going to be harder to get through. Slowing down a bit, Mercy pulled into the intersection and dodged a car and made it through the intersection and continued down the street to the next intersection. There were five intersections she had to get through in order to make it out of town...and she had made it through three so far. But now she was approaching through the shopping plaza of the town, and there was a big intersection there. Mercy plowed through the fourth intersection, just as the light turned yellow, and quickly approached the next one. She knew she could continue to go straight at the next intersection and not have to worry about any traffic, or she could turn slightly left and deal with the intersection, and one more after it. Thinking about it, Mercy continued straight, and then pressed her foot even lower to floor as they headed out of town.

"You're driving isn't that bad," Megatron stated suddenly as they excelled to nearly 65mph.

The police were still behind them, gaining, but they appeared to be keeping there distance as well. Mercy suddenly got an idea, "Megatron, do you have a scanner so we can hear what they're saying?"

"Good thinking," he replied and tried to adjust his comlink to the frequency used by the police.

After another ten minutes or so, Mercy tore through a smaller town and not long after she had passed through the town, one of the police cars rammed her from behind. She watched the screen as Megatron didn't suffer even a scratch, and the hood of the police car bent. His titanium armor was coming in handy, but the jolt from the rear end had been strong enough to cause Mercy to lose control for a minute before she quickly regained it and pressed on the gas even more so she was going nearly 74mph.

Her and Megatron continued tearing down the road and through small little towns. Mercy had no idea where she was going though, she only followed the road. An hour went by, Mercy kept increasing her speeds to stay away from the police. She made sharp turns onto roads in an attempt to lose the police, but none of her efforts worked, and Megatron couldn't find the frequency on which the police were using to communicate their messages. At the moment, they had several cop cars trailing them, and Mercy almost felt her eyes pop out of her head when she saw a road block of police cars a few hundred yards down the road.

"Megatron..." she said, "How do I get by them?"

"Looks like you're going to learn how to fly a jet today too."

"WHAT?!" she hollered for the second time that day, "I'm still rusty when it comes to driving a car! How the hell am I supposed to drive a jet of all things?"

Megatron chuckled at her reaction and remarked, "Just go my top speed, I'll transform into my jet form, and keep a hand on the gear shift after I do so."

Mercy proceeded to press the gas pedal to the floor again and shot forward at an insane speed of nearly 150mph. Megatron transformed into his jet form, and Mercy placed a hand on the gear shift. She held it firmly as the decepticon leader ordered, "Push the gear shift all the way forward and then pull up on the steering wheel."

She pushed the gear shift all the way forward and she heard as jet engines roared outside and she quickly gripped the steering wheel and pulled upwards as hard as she could. Mercy watched in awe and horror as she gained altitude and shot over the road block and climbed into the heavens. Completely thrilled, Mercy pumped a fist into the air and burst out laughing. A normal, excited laugh. Megatron felt himself smile involuntarily...he had never heard Mercy laugh...and a part of him ached for her to never stop laughing. But her laughter died down to snickers as she looked in the screen and saw the bedazzled looks of the police officers as they watched her fly away. She shook her head and asked, "This isn't as bad as I thought it would be."

Megatron felt his systems draining, and he knew this flight was taking a lot out of him. The police were in the distance now...and they had to land before he collapsed...with Mercy and got them both killed. Sighing he said, "Mercy...you've got to land. I don't have enough energy to use this vehicle form yet."

"Oh God," she exclaimed in a mutter, "Help me now."

"Ease back on the gear shift," he explained, "That will decrease our speed."

Mercy slowly pulled the gear shift back a bit and felt as the speed decreased and heard as the engines slightly lessened their roar. Megatron directed her towards the road and told her to decrease the speed and altitude together this time, and he had her keep doing that until she made a rough yet safe landing on the road and they continued forward, obeying the speed limit this time to keep the police off them since they had lost them, and they avoided the main road and took the back roads instead. The day wore on as Mercy drove further southward...until eventually late afternoon came and she crossed the New York State border into Pennsylvania. She had no idea where anything was...she had never been out of state before. All of this was exciting and terrifying...and she had no one to look out for her...unless Megatron was...but she highly doubted that he was looking out for her because he wanted to. He wouldn't if he had the choice, but since the beginning he never had the choice, he had always been with her...and Mercy knew he hated it. And she didn't know why, but she hated how he hated her.

The android found herself nodding off as the sky blackened from the setting sun and rising moon. The stars began to come out...signaling that Mercy and Megatron had been traveling all day...and now were headed into the night. She was exhausted though from driving all day...trying to keep her focus on the road without crashing or anything...and she was stiff and cramped. But she had a feeling that Megatron was much more tired than she was, and that both of them would need to stop soon. Trying to keep herself awake, she asked, "Megatron, how do you turn on the radio?"

"You mean to tell me you actually listen to music like a normal person?" he remarked.

"I'm going to turn it on so I can try to keep myself awake," she explained annoyed at the fact that Megatron didn't think she was normal.

"If you insist."

"I do," she responded in a serious, matter-of-fact tone.

Megatron told her how to turn it on, and Mercy did, and fooled around with the stations, until she came across one playing songs that she was familiar with. It was a station that played the top forty on the hit list. She wasn't a fan of all the songs, but when a year or so ago Mercy had gotten bored and turned on the radio...only to have music become an almost important thing in her life. Megatron listened to a few bars of the current song and then asked, "This is music?"

"I guess so," she replied, "There's songs a whole lot better than this one out there. But now a days...songs have to have something about sex in them in order to be a song."

"I see humans are becoming more and more perverted."

"The good songs are sex free and the singers put feeling into there songs."

"Examples please."

"Are you really interested in knowing?"

"Not really..."

"I guess you don't listen to much music."

"I don't have time for it. It's unimportant anyway."

"You're mistaken."

And the discussion ended there. The two continued on through the Pennsylvanian countryside with the music playing softly. After another hour and a half of driving, Mercy couldn't help but give a rather loud yawn.

"We need to stop," Megatron spoke up, "You're obviously tired."

"Alright...where?"

"Pull over on the side of the road here."

Mercy pulled over, and she turned the vehicle form off. Megatron opened the cockpit, and Mercy climbed out, stiffer and sorer than she thought possible. The decepticon leader transformed into his robot form and said, "Follow me."

And Mercy followed him into a forest with dense brush that was a little ways back from the road. The air was spring like...though it was a bit chilly outside. Luckily there wasn't any snow on the ground. Megatron led Mercy through the forest until they found a small clearing and decided to stop there. The android glanced around before asking, "Are we sleeping on the ground?"

"We don't have any other option."

Mercy sighed heavily as she sat down on the cold ground. She never realized how much she cared about her home...she missed it so terribly much. She wanted her bed, she wanted it's comfort and warmth and protection, and she wanted her house, where she felt safe and secure. But the only thing she had was the clothes on her back and Megatron. And quite honestly, Mercy believed her clothes cared more about her than Megatron...and her clothes couldn't feel. Too tired to just sit there anymore, Mercy laid back on the uncomfortable and hard ground. She gazed up at the sky...and didn't notice as Megatron gazed at her.

As much as the decepticon leader tried not to feel it, he could feel his insides twisting into knots as he watched Mercy look up at the heavens. He didn't know what was happening...he didn't want to know what was happening...and he had vowed to make whatever was happening stop...but he couldn't. He realized he should have been smarter when he thought that a vow could erase something he felt...because it obviously couldn't. But this feeling hurt...it hurt really bad, and more than anything he wanted it to go away...and the only time it came was when he was with or around Mercy. And he had first realized the feeling was there when he had saved her from the river...but oh he didn't know what it was. Megatron desperately wanted to keep his vow...he had to kill Mercy when he was alive again...there was absolutely no other option. He could afford to be "nice" to her now, but then she had to be eliminated. But a bigger knot formed in his abdomen as he thought that.

Wanting to be in her presence, Megatron went over and laid down next to Mercy and gathered her in his arms saying, "You did well for your first time driving."

Mercy looked at him baffled before asking, "Was that a compliment?"

Megatron gazed down at her before answering, "Don't expect anymore."

She frowned, "Don't expect one from me ever."

Megatron had always enjoyed the femmes that liked to play hard to get...he shook his head mentally. Mercy wasn't playing. She was just hard to get. _"Oh Primus,"_ he thought suddenly realizing something, _"Don't tell me I...I want her..."_

"You look confused, Megatron," came Mercy's voice snapping him from his thoughts.

"Let's just go to sleep," he replied.

"Alright," she responded and sat up and started to move away from him.

Megatron locked his arms around her waist, and before he realized what he was doing he pulled her directly against him and pinned her before asking roughly, "Where do you think you're going?"

"I was going to find a new spot to sleep because you took mine," she snapped back.

"You're not going anywhere out of my reach...I don't trust you," he explained...not sure why he was doing this.

Mercy narrowed her eyes at him before she settled back down on the ground beside the decepticon leader. He could tell he made her very mad just then...why...he wasn't sure. Maybe she felt that he was taking away her rights again...he really didn't know. He only held on her to her...tightly...so tightly that she couldn't turn her back to him and sleep on her other side. Megatron watched her until she fell asleep, and once she had, he rested his head against the top of hers and fell asleep himself...the knots slowly easing away. He knew killing her would be one of the hardest things to do now.

Megatron's radio was still softly playing music.

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Not the best way to end this chapter...but still. Well...bedazzled is my new favorite word, for those of you who cared to know XD. Anyways, thanks a million to all of you who have been reviewing this story right along, I appreciate it very much, and it would mean the world to me if you kept right on reviewing...so you know what two words are coming now: Please review! 


	14. Promise Me This

Well...my vacation has finally arrived and I hope to update all my stories at some point this week. Oh...and it's Mrs. Optimus Prime's birthday so everyone go and wish her a happy birthday! XD

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**Chapter Fourteen:**** Promise Me This**

Megatron woke up the next morning to something shifting in his arms. He groaned softly and let his optics come online only to discover he was holding Mercy almost as tightly in his arms as he had been when he had fallen asleep. Sighing, he looked down at her and tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear that had fallen in her face. He listened and watched her as she groaned slightly and remained asleep. She was so peaceful when she slept…so beautiful. Megatron shook his head trying to erase that last thought. The first rays of the rising sun were catching in her lavender hair and making it shine like glitter. It was a spectacle to see and such a wondrous thing to behold…not just Mercy's hair, but the sun as well. Megatron wasn't a person for light though, but it was better to see than the gray earth around him. Megatron held Mercy closer to him…not knowing why, but he did. He believed it was out of protection, but in this forest, who was going to harm her? The police weren't going to find them today, hopefully they wouldn't be found anytime soon. The decepticon leader returned his gaze to Mercy…he didn't want her to wake up…he wanted to stay where they were at the current moment…but why?

That feeling had resurfaced itself inside Megatron's chest…it ached so badly. He wanted it to go away, but it just wouldn't. And whenever he thought of killing Mercy or bringing any sort of harm on her, the ache only got worse. He was curious though as to what she was doing to cause it. Perhaps she had gotten into his mind again, and managed to find her way down to his spark where she had unleashed her dark tentacles. Or maybe this pain he was feeling was all imaginary…but if it was imaginary, why was he feeling it?

Bored and sick of trying to figure out what the emotion was, if it was an emotion, Megatron decided to try something to make the ache in his spark go away. Taking Mercy's small hand in his, the decepticon leader lifted her hand and drew it back until she had wrapped her arm around his waist. Nothing. So he brought her hand from around his waist up to his face. He placed the palm of her hand on his cheek…still nothing…that was until she gave a small groan and her fingers twitched slightly against his cheek, sending brushes of ecstasy shivering down through his cheek and neck…and the ache momentarily subsided. Anger then coursed through the decepticon leader…he had not wanted that sort of reaction, his spark, and possibly his mind were beginning to betray him. And the last thing he wanted to do was go insane. He tossed her hand aside and gruffly got up from the ground. Mercy woke up in the process and watched as he started walking away from her. She could tell just from his body language that something was wrong and that she better stay away or else suffer through his wrath.

So without saying anything, Mercy stood and stretched, ignoring Megatron and turning her head towards the rising sun. Mercy knew that sunrise was at about 7:30am…so she figured that it was around that time. She glanced around at the forest, extremely bored. If they were going to remain hidden here, Mercy knew she was going to die of boredom. Sighing, she sat back down on the ground and rested her head in her hands. She stared at the trees only a few feet from her and thought about breaking into the woods and looking around while Megatron wasn't looking. But then she'd get on his bad side, and then she'd have to deal with his wrath, but it would keep her from being bored. Mercy glanced behind to see where Megatron was and saw he was standing at the other edge of the forest…obviously thinking. _"That's my cue,"_ she thought.

And Mercy stood back up and as quietly as she could, she made her way to the edge of the forest. She slipped inside and out of sight, grateful to be doing something other than just sitting around and watching the grass grow. As she walked into the forest though, she realized it was thicker than what she had thought it was and that she better not wander too far away or else she may not be able to find her way back to that small clearing. Mercy felt extreme privacy where she was standing at the moment. She could look behind herself and see light from the clearing, but it was calm here. Birds were chirping with the sounds of spring, the forest smelled heavenly of pine, and it was quiet enough to just sit down and think…something Mercy didn't feel comfortable doing in front of Megatron, and something she hadn't done in a while, serious thinking. Looking around, Mercy spotted a tree that was still standing but had a hallowed out base, and after a careful examination, she realized it was big enough for her to sit in comfortably.

She crawled inside and sat, hugging her knees to her chest…and after a few moments she became lost in her thoughts. And it surprised her that most of them were about Megatron…but her main thought was what would become of her once Megatron left to go back to wherever he came from. She couldn't go home, not if the murder was still an issue. And chances are it would be. She closed her eyes. Nothing could ever come easy for her…ever.

* * *

Though Mercy was still a top priority on Megatron's mind, he knew he had better things to think about, like why he wasn't alive yet. He had been collecting energy for a while now, but still, he had little results. He wasn't collecting enough…he needed so much more, but just where could he get it from? It was almost as if the dark energy he was using was nowhere near enough…that he had to find an alternate source of energy. But what?

He let his optics go offline knowing that he should've been alive long before now, that something wasn't being done right. Megatron noticed that he hadn't collected as much energy when he and Mercy were arguing…and that when he and Mercy were actually getting along he collected more…he collected even more when their moments together were…romantic, if that was the word. _"Perhaps if…we acted romantically from here on out then…then I'll be back among the living within the next few days and I can go home."_ Megatron shook his head and felt sick for even thinking something like that. He hated anything romantic; it made him sick right down to the core. Sure, he had had his share of lovers in the past, but they weren't really lovers. They were femmes that struggled for dominance, and he was grateful to show _he_ was the dominate one. But those instances were of the past, he never really looked back on them, he had been so much younger back then…

He shook his head again. Why, all of a sudden, was his head filled with thoughts of love…and Mercy? He hated her, he hated her since the moment he first laid optics on her, he hated her now, he had to…he pleaded with himself to still hate her, but that ache in his chest nearly killed him as he thought that. Megatron knew he had to come back to life now; he had to, no matter what it took. He was going insane, he could feel it. He had to get Mercy out of his life and head and system, out of every fiber of his body. The expression on his face turned into a grimace. _"Stop thinking,"_ he told himself, _"Just stop thinking."_ He sighed, and it helped to clear his mind…a bit.

He figured he should get Mercy up now, to help him keep from losing his sanity, and perhaps find something to do to keep both of them from being bored out of their minds. Turning around, he felt his systems nearly shut down when he saw Mercy was nowhere to be found. Anger boiled through his circuits as he shouted, "MERCY!"

* * *

Mercy heard Megatron shout and she smirked figuring she should head back to the clearing…but she really didn't want to…maybe it wouldn't hurt if she played with him a bit. She howled back, "If you want me, come and find me!"

"You're dead when I find you!"

"I guess I'll meet you in the void then!"

"This isn't a game!"

"Why not be? We've got nothing else to do!"

"What did you say?"

"Come again?"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

"YOU MISSED IT; IT FLEW RIGHT BY YOU WITHOUT WAVING!"

"I suggest you don't get me any madder than what I already am!"

"I'm screwed either way!"

And suddenly he was in front of the tree, looking in at her. He smirked and said, "Oh you bet you are."

She gasped and gawked at him for a minute. She hadn't even heard him coming, and she was confused as to how he had found her so fast, and then she realized he must have followed her voice. Her cheeks reddened slightly, and she tried to squish away the feeling of embarrassment that was settling in. Megatron read the embarrassment on her face and said, "Come on, get out of there."

"Promise you won't hurt me?" she asked, not really wanting an early morning beating. Her life was hard enough without any beatings.

"I don't make promises I can't keep," Megatron answered.

Mercy glared at him for a moment, and he returned the glare. She crossed her arms and pushed herself further inside the tree. Megatron's optics widened a bit before he narrowed them and exclaimed, "Didn't I already say this is not a game?"

"Why should I come out?"

"Because I said so."

"All you ever do is hurt me, why bother if you're just going to hurt me some more?"

"Fine, we'll do things your way," he remarked and he suddenly disappeared.

Mercy, when she didn't hear him for a bit moved to peek out the opening when all of a sudden Megatron's fist entered through the back of the tree and hit her slightly. She managed to avoid taking the brunt of it…and she quickly scrambled out of the tree and began running back towards the clearing. She really didn't want to run the risk of being punched from behind by a ghostly titanium fist. Especially since that fist belonged to the leader of the decepticons.

She managed to convince herself to glance behind, and when she did, she saw Megatron whoosh out from behind the tree and start coming after her. Swallowing hard, Mercy snapped her head forward again and darted through the forest for a few moments until she suddenly burst into the blinding golden sunlight of the clearing. She was hardly into the clearing when she felt cold hands claw into her lower back and then arms slide around her waist tightly before a titanium body slammed against hers brutally and bashed her to the ground. The palms of her hands scraped against the frozen and hard ground as she tried to catch her fall. The arms retracted quickly from around her waist and quick hands snagged her wrists and held her arms behind her back. Mercy was pinned.

Growling she ordered, "Get off me!"

"I do believe that you still have to be punished for leaving without my permission, being insubordinate, and running from me."

"Not this bullshit again," Mercy hissed growing evermore uncomfortable.

Megatron grit his teeth and using his free hand, he grabbed her hair and pulled her head back saying, "I can keep you like this _all _day if I have to."

Mercy winced and squeezed her eyes shut as she growled, "Just what do you want me to do?"

"Stop running away! Do you _want_ to get us both killed?" And Megatron remembered that he was dead and rephrased what he said by sighing softly, "I mean—do you want to send us both to that void? Trust me Mercy; take how much you hate this place and multiply it by infinity and then you might just understand how much you would hate it there."

"I was just thinking—

"I don't care!" he bellowed ferociously and then said in a hushed, almost gentle tone, "Just…just promise me that you won't runaway again."

Mercy felt shock overcome her like a wave. He was being serious, she could hear it in his voice, and she could feel it as he released her from his grasp and climbed off her. She sat up and looked over at him; he was sitting there, not looking at her, just nowhere in particular. Something was bothering him; she could see that…it was in the atmosphere around them. Megatron sat facing the western sky, while Mercy sat facing the rising sun, the rays of the sun dancing through her hair almost making it glow. They were sitting far back enough so that they could see each other…but they weren't looking at each other.

"Mercy, promise me," he growled becoming angry again.

She sighed, "I…can't."

"What? Why not?"

"I'm not going to make a promise that I'm only guaranteed to break."

Megatron looked to her with an inferno blazing in his optics, "Just what do you mean?"

"I don't know…you're bound to get me mad enough to just run off again, it's happened before."

"And you almost died! Do you _never_ learn your lesson?"

Mercy didn't say anything and thought about getting up and leaving, but only stopped because she knew Megatron wouldn't hesitate to hurt her this time. After pausing for a few moments she finally said, "Alright, I promise."

"You better mean it."

"We'll find out when the time comes."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She shrugged and then asked, "I've noticed you deep in thought lately, what's on your mind?"

Megatron looked away from her, he wasn't used to sharing his personal thoughts, and he definitely wasn't about to share the thoughts he was having about her. He hesitated before finally saying, ever so silently, "I should be back among the living by now."

This time Mercy stole a glance at him and then said, "You haven't collected enough energy?"

"No…nowhere near the amount of energy required to bring me back to life…it's almost as if I need to find a new energy source."

"Don't hurt me for saying this but you need to be more patient."

Megatron shot her a glare and snorted before looking back at the forest in front of him. _"You ought to talk,"_ he thought.

"Just what do you plan to do once you're alive again?" she inquired curious.

Megatron grinned and sat back a bit. Letting his optics go offline he declared, "I'm going back to Cybertron of course and rebuilding my army of decepticon warriors. With them I will kill Optimus Prime and the rest of his filthy autobots and then take over Cybertron, and hopefully the universe. "

"And where will I be during this?"

"Dead," Megatron slipped without thinking, and then realizing what he said he let his optics come slowly back online only to see Mercy's surprised expression.

"What do you mean dead?" she growled, "You were planning on killing me weren't you?"

Megatron smirked and said, "Guilty."

"For how long have you been planning?" she demanded.

"Since the beginning…" he trailed off.

Without another word she grit her teeth and stood up, without looking back she headed again into the forest. Megatron watched her and realized that if he didn't stop her, she wouldn't come back and he'd run the risk of never seeing her again…a risk he knew he definitely could not take. Quickly he got up and looked to see she was at the edge of the clearing now, walking briskly. He took a couple steps in her direction and said, "Mercy stop, you promised you wouldn't run away again."

Mercy felt a huge lump form in her throat and was unable to keep her voice steady as she replied, "I already told you I couldn't keep the damn promise."

"Mercy," he exclaimed sternly, "There will be a _severe _punishment if you make me come after you."

And Mercy stopped at the tree-line of the forest. She couldn't make herself go forward, and she felt so dead inside. She didn't know why, but whatever heart she must have possessed was in the highest degree of pain she had ever thought possible…and it felt like all the air had just been sucked right out of her. And Megatron was just as shocked as she was when a painful sob broke free from her lips and tears began sliding down her cheeks.

She turned around then, and looked to Megatron with her tear stained face and cried, "That's all life is to you! Punishment, pain, suffering, and war! Don't you know anything else? Don't you care about anyone besides you goddamn self?!"

Megatron's surprise was quickly replaced with anger as he snarled, "You're no better than me."

"Well at least now I want to be…I'm sick of being a damned psychopath like you!" And with that she turned to head into the forest.

"Mercy don't you dare walk away from me!" Megatron shouted.

She ignored him and continued into the forest. Furious, Megatron charged after her, caught her, and slammed her against a wide-trunked tree where he pinned her and growled, "I told you not to walk away…and you broke your promise."

And she looked up at him, her cheeks stained with tears and her luscious blue eyes beginning to become puffy as she said, "You're no better than me."

Megatron grit his teeth seeing how she had used his words against him and thus replied, "I always have been and always will be better than you. You deserve to die."

"I know I do." She answered softly.

He felt some of his anger melt away…she had agreed with him when she wasn't supposed to and killed off his argument. And it had gotten to the point where he could hardly look at her in the eyes anymore because the ache in his chest swelled to new heights never thought possible. Why was it hurting him to hurt her? What was wrong with him? There was no more joy in her suffering…there was only pain…he unwillingly shared her pain, and he couldn't prevent it let alone stop it. But madly he tried to put up a fight against the ache and growled lowly and bitterly, "You will die, do you understand? You will die by my hands!"

"All my life hardly anyone has cared about me, and the people who do either leave me behind forever or die! I agree to sell my life to you and let you walk all over me and you can't even show the smallest sign of sympathy!" she reprimanded maliciously.

Megatron looked away from her, he couldn't do this anymore…it was far beyond too painful, and for the first time, he couldn't endure and argument against her. Giving up, he roughly grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her back out into the clearing where he threw her to the ground and shouted, "Don't get up, let alone leave that spot!"

Mercy watched him through tears as her turned away from her and sat a few feet away from her with his back turned. She felt so broken inside, and it was his _entire_ fault. She had let herself accept the silly notion that he was beginning to care about her, but never again would she. He was truly a heartless person, and she wished more than anything that she had never agreed to help him. Her face crumpled and she groaned softly as she tried to hold back another sob…it was impossible to ignore the urge she had right now just to throw herself on him and absolutely beg him to care about her. She didn't know why, but she didn't care if everyone else hated her, she just had to have his approval, something to show her that he cared even the _slightest_ bit about her. It just hurt so bad to find out that he didn't, and he never would.

* * *

Megatron and Mercy stayed that way most of the day, and they had watched the sun travel across the sky and now the golden orb was beginning to sink below the western horizon…but the trees obstructed their view of the sunset, but neither of them cared to see it anyway.

The leader of the decepticon sighed heavily as he heard Mercy try to hide another sob. He knew this was all his fault and the ache in his chest would not cease no matter how hard he tried to convince himself that he hated Mercy and she should die. He knew he no longer had it in him to beat her or hurt her…let alone kill her. Whatever bitterness he had with her in the beginning had died and he knew as soon as he was alive again that he just had to get away from her. She was no longer any good for him.

Feeling guilty for one of the first times in his life, he got up from where he had spent the day moping and went over to Mercy. Without a word or gesture he sat down soundlessly beside her. She knew he was there, but she didn't acknowledge him.

"Mercy," he began, "I…I'm sorry."

"Don't say it if you don't mean it," she replied pain heavy in her voice.

"I wouldn't be saying it if I didn't mean it." He replied.

Mercy figured that much was true, but her mind was tired from all the pain and crying she had been through that day and she didn't know what to think let alone how to react except through more tears. Megatron noticed and without thinking he pulled her into his lap and held her firmly. And Mercy responded by burying her face in his chest and sobbing. The decepticon leader rubbed a soothing hand up and down her back while nuzzling his nose and mouth into Mercy's hair. He murmured, "I'm not going to kill you Mercy, not anymore. I care about you enough to spare your life."

"Promise me that," she cried softly, "And don't promise it if you can't keep it."

Megatron hesitated for a few moments. And Mercy waited in the most angst in her life that she had ever experienced. Minutes ticked by…but Megatron didn't say anything. Mercy felt the pain hallow up inside of her and knew that if he didn't say anything, it would be the end of any life she might've had. When five minutes expired, Mercy felt her face crumple again, and she whimpered involuntarily. Still he said nothing. Her tears once again began to flow.

"I…I promise Mercy, I won't kill you…ever, for any reason."

He had given her a lifetime guarantee…and her tears finally ceased. After a few minutes, she moved her head so it was resting beneath his chin and whispered, "Thank you."

Megatron didn't say anything, and proceeded to lay back and lay Mercy close beside him. He then looked down at her and said, "You need to sleep now."

She nodded tiredly, but before she attempted to fall asleep she remarked, "You know how you said earlier that you may need to find a new source of energy?"

"Let me guess, you've thought of an alternate."

"I have."

"Enlighten me."

She rolled so her back was to him and whispered, "Love."

Megatron gazed at her a moment with widened optics trying to think of why she would suggest that. He thought about it some and he knew it wasn't preposterous, especially since he had considered it himself before hand. Sighing he rolled onto his back and looked up at the stars that were just beginning to come out. It only took him a matter of moments to decide on an answer to Mercy's suggestion.

He completely scoffed at the idea.

* * *

Well, I thought I'd put a little "fluff" in it for the recently past Valentine's Day. Wait a minute...raveen92, your b-day is on Valentine's Day...OMG! Happy Belated Birthday girl! (glomps raveen92) I'm sooooo sorry I forgot! Everyone go and wish her a a happy belated birthday too. And don't forget about Mrs. OP since her birthday is today...my gosh people, stop having birthday's.

Anywho...could you leave a nice review for my unbirthday? Please? I love you guys!


	15. Can't Get You Out of My Head

Well, I've got a few things to say. One, I have a five day weekend next week to hopefully do some quality story updating. Two, READ DECEPTIGIRL'S STORY! It's called Twisted Worlds, and it's the making of a superb story, so read and **review** it. Three, I'm not writing _My Life Began With You: Deleted Scenes_ anymore...due toa few requests, I'm writing a real sequel. Now, on with this story!

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen: Can't Get You Out of My Head **

_Mercy jumped when she heard the gun fire. As if in slow motion, Brenna's body fell backwards onto the white carpet of the living room floor. Blood began to pool around her and Mercy thought for sure Brenna was dead. She looked to the man who grinned and turned to her. His shirt had spatters of blood on it though he didn't seem to mind. The android felt fire begin to pulse through her circuits._

"_Now Mercy, I honestly do not care Brenna refused me, I really am starting to like you much better anyway. So what do you say?"_

"_You shot Brenna."_

_The man laughed and Mercy felt the burning sensation in her circuits begin to increase tenfold._

"_She had it coming to her," explained the man, "Don't tell you want the same fate, beautiful."_

"_No," Mercy said in voice full of bloodlust, a voice she did not know she possessed, "You evil…sick man!"_

_He laughed again and Mercy felt the burning within her explode. She glanced down at her hands only to see they were engulfed in flames, but there was no pain. She really was going to burn someone, and it was going to be the man before her… _

Mercy opened her eyes. Cool night air surrounded her…it was almost dawn; she could tell from the birds she heard chirping. Something didn't feel right though, she felt like a crazed animal that had just sensed the barometer drop…but there was no rain, not even a cloud in the sky. She could see the fading stars just fine above her head, but that didn't set her mind to ease. And she knew she didn't have a sixth sense, but she knew something was going to happen today…something worth noting.

The android sighed and sat up. A chill passed through her and she hugged her knees to her chest, cold. There must have been an error in her temperature unit to explain why she felt cold nearly all the time. She hated being cold…she couldn't sleep when she was cold…winter was so unpleasant. Her clothes felt cold and clammy. She looked down at them only to see that there were tracings of frost on them…heavier in certain places. Glancing over at Megatron she saw he was covered in Mother Nature's sheet of frozen dew, and groaned. He was going to be agitated this morning. She really wasn't in the mood for another fight with him today…yesterday had been bad enough.

Mercy thought back to the time a couple mornings ago when she had showed Megatron the murder…she had left out two parts. One part she left out was the name of Brenna's killer because she couldn't remember it. The other part was where she had managed to get the killer to leave. Mercy wasn't sure why, but she didn't want Megatron to find out about her gift of fire.

She believed it was similar to the electricity that the decepticon leader contained in his fist, but different as well. Looking Megatron over, she wondered if he ever felt cold…

Shifting her position so that she was now crouched beside the decepticon leader, she summoned the fire within her and watched as her hands became engulfed in a golden orange flame. She waited a few moments as the flames got warmer, and when they were hot enough, she hovered them just over the decepticon leader's frostbitten frame and began to thaw his armor.

Megatron felt his systems come online, but he kept his optics offline. He was trying to figure out why he felt cold and warm at the same time. His hands, feet, and legs were cold…but his torso was warm. It was eerie and calming at the same time…and it was soothing the ache in his chest. Megatron inhaled air into his systems to cool his warming torso and he exhaled in a sweetly passionate whisper, "Oh, Mercy."

She snapped her head to look at his face…his optics weren't online…he had to be recharging still…but dreaming about her? Mercy found that highly unlikely, but why did he just say her name in such an orgasmic way? She slowly took her eyes from his face and looked down at her hands before asking softly, "Megatron is your body fireproof?"

Optics still offline he replied, "To a degree, yes."

She could tell Megatron was awake…but why wasn't he letting his optics online? Mercy couldn't think of any explanation other than he just didn't want to, but she didn't understand his behavior…let alone why. Sighing, she shifted so she was sitting beside his head. She momentarily squeezed her eyes shut before she opened them and slowly extended a shaky hand out to his cheek…until she was cupping his face in her hand.

Megatron felt a burning warmth on his cheek…it didn't hurt that much…but the warmth was surprisingly pleasant. And he could feel his spark pounding in his chest…the ache completely disappeared the instant Mercy's hand had touched him…he allowed his optics to flicker online and he completely missed the flames burning against his face. His optics opened to see Mercy…and that's where his gaze stayed. The decepticon leader found himself completely and utterly lost inside her eyes…reading her confused expression. The rising sun was beginning to glint off her hair making it look like it was glowing yet again. "Please tell me this is a dream," he breathed; his voice strained and almost hoarse.

"Why a dream?" she asked tenderly, wanting to stroke his face but not daring to.

"Because I don't want it to be real."

Mercy looked at him surprised and then quickly turned away from him. As she pulled away, Megatron noticed finally that her hands were on fire. Stunned he sat up and demanded, "What's going on?"

She looked at him from where she was sitting and questioned, "What do you mean?"

"Your hands are burning."

Mercy glanced down at her hands and examined them before saying, "No, they're fine."

Megatron gave her a quizzical look, "Fine?"

She shook her hands until the fire went out and explained, "When you made me an android…I became obsessed with burning things…you knew. And the day Brenna was murdered; I got so mad at her killer that flames erupted from my hands…like you saw just now, and I scared him away."

"So that explains the burn marks from the time I tied you up and you got free," he mused.

Mercy nodded and he sighed. Megatron thought back to the murder…from what he knew about it, the android presented a worthy argument proving her innocence. But one thing still lingered on his mind: was that "memory" of the murder she showed him really a memory? He didn't know how to figure out if it was or not. And a small part of him was beginning to believe that Mercy didn't commit the murder and that she had been telling the truth all along. What bothered him the most at the moment was the fact that he wasn't angry with her…no resentment at all. He had to get away from her, before it drove him out of his mind.

"Why didn't you tell me about the fire?" he asked feigning annoyance.

"I didn't think you would believe me."

"You could've proven it though."

"It was just one less argument to have with you," she answered and Megatron understood.

He felt the ache return to his chest and he bit back a grimace as he thought, _"Perhaps its just lust."_ Megatron had to get her out of his mind…out of his emotions…just out of everything. But yet…he didn't want to. He shook his head trying to rid himself of any thoughts of her, he had to stay sane.

Mercy watched him with a curious bewilderment upon her face. Ignoring him, she laid back on the grass and looked up at the sky. Closing her eyes she let a chilly breeze run over her and the smell of the pines overcome her as the birds chirped and sang. _"Spring,"_ she thought, _"An end to winter."_ She sighed heavily…half hoping Megatron would come over and sit by her and stroke her face…or at least hold her again. Mercy felt her heart beat as light and as free as the wind whenever she thought about Megatron…

And she knew she loved him.

Somewhere, between all the madness and pain and confusion she managed to fall for him. Perhaps it was because he stuck around and didn't give up on her…maybe because he had saved her life when she was drowning in the river…or possibly it was from all the tender moments they had together. Mercy held back a grin knowing it was all three reasons. She breathed light heartedly and placed a hand on her chest and felt her heart or spark, whichever it was, pulsing inside of her. Making sure her telepathic link was closed she thought, _"Come to me Megatron…come. Touch me Megatron, please…talk to me…hold me…care for me. You've made me go insane and it's only fair I do the same to you."_ And she waited in silence for him to come, eyes closed, breath heavy…but he never did.

She opened her eyes and saw him standing, leaning against a tree and watching the rising sun through the cracks in the trees. Mercy longed to know just what it was he was thinking about, she had a feeling that something concerned him more than the fact he wasn't alive again. But he did an excellent job of making sure his telepathic link was closed…and she couldn't figure out why she was keeping his thoughts so secretive. It agitated him, she knew that much…but was it possible his thoughts concerned her?

Mercy sat up knowing she should just give up on her feelings for the decepticon leader…she'd never confess unless he confessed the same to her as well. Love was the greatest pain in the world…and the easiest way to get rid of that pain was to never let it start. But Mercy knew she had already gone too far beyond letting it start…and the only other option she had left was to ignore it and forget it. But forgetting anythinga person may havecared about is never easy. And Mercy knew that she had a long road ahead of her, and instead of thinking about what Megatron and her could be, she began thinking about what she would do once the decepticon leader was gone.

The android was snapped from her thoughts when she suddenly heard Megatron sigh. She looked to him only to catch his gaze. He looked at her for a moment before he said, "When I go back to Cybertron…I'm not taking you with me."

"What if the murder isn't solved yet?"

"That's your problem, not mine," he stated and abruptly turned back to the sun…saying that comment had hurt him…and he had a feeling that it hurt her as well.

"Then…then help me try and find the guy that killed Brenna that way I'll be alright when you go," she pleaded.

Megatron glanced at her, "There's no way we'd find him."

"He's after me…if we go back to my town then—

"Then you will be arrested and I won't be able to collect any energy from you, now enough of this nonsense. Just do me a favor and leave me alone."

Mercy watched as Megatron walked to the other side of the clearing, away from her…she never felt so hated in her life. She swallowed hard and went over to the tree where Megatron had been, only to notice a sign. It read:

_POSTED…NO HUNTING…NO TRESSPASSING... property owned by Shawn Lewis_

"Shawn Lewis?" Mercy exclaimed quietly.

* * *

Shawn Lewis was hiking through his woods; he enjoyed early morning hikes through parts of his forest, and every morning he would walk a different path. This morning he was walking towards the clearing in the forest where he had planned to make a pond sometime in the late spring or early summer. As he came upon the clearing, he suddenly caught a glimpse of purple between the trees. Backtracking a couple steps, he peered between the trees and saw a girl. He opened his mouth to yell at her to get off his property…when suddenly he recognized her. 

Shawn had been watching the news recently, and seen the story about the murder of Brenna Meyers. A Mercy LeCroix had been suspectedof killing her, and she had been reported missing. And when they flashed a picture of what Mercy had looked like on the screen, he had looked at it, but didn't pay too much attention to it. He figured the murder was in New York and it didn't concern him…until now…because the girl he saw on the news was now standing in his woods.

The man quickly stepped out of her line of view and whipped out his cellphone. His hands were shaking slightly, but he managed to press the numbers: 911 and the call button. Lifting the phone to his ear, he listened as a female police operator came on and said, "911, what is your emergency?"

"I know where Mercy LeCroix is," Shawn spoke into the phone.

"Where?" the officer asked eagerly.

"I was hiking in my woods this morning and I spotted her. She's alone and—

"What's your address?"

Shawn gave it to her and she then said, "The police will be there immediately, thank you sir."

"You're welcome."

And the call was disconnected. Shawn looked to the clearing one last time before he took off running back his house.

* * *

Mercy sighed and moved away from the tree. It was unnerving her…and she wanted to move closer to Megatron, but she knew better than to disturb him. Glancing over at him she saw he was deep in thought still. Shaking her head she sat down. Today was going to be very boring if this was how they were going to spend it. 

Megatron sighed. He knew sometime he'd have to stop thinking about Mercy, but the threat of insanity wasn't working. There had to be something he could do to get the android off his mind, no matter what it took. Perhaps…if he fulfilled the lust he was now suspecting as the cause of his thoughts and the ache, all the thoughts and the pain would go away and he could go on with his life. He glanced to Mercy who was tracing something on the ground with a stick and felt heat rush to his cheeks and his spark... _"How cute…wait, what am I thinking?!"_ he thought.

The decepticon leader quickly snapped his attention away from her. He couldn't figure out what was wrong with him…there had to be a glitch in his systems somewhere, one that acquired immediate attention. _"Get your mind off her and on something else,"_ he told himself.

They were both suffering from extreme boredom, and Megatron was growing sick of the forest they were currently hiding in. He supposed that they should find a new hiding location, one that was more comfortable and definitely more entertaining. And if they stayed here too long the owner of the property was bound to come across them sometime and that they couldn't afford to have happen.

He didn't know where to go to hide though where they wouldn't be so bored. Megatron longed to take her to Cybertron with him, but he knew once he took her there he'd never be able to bring her back. Not only would she fall in love with the place, but he was afraid that she would be too afraid to go back to earth where she was wanted for the murder of Brenna…and Megatron, deep down inside had a feeling that Mercy was telling the truth, that she didn't kill her friend. The android had no motive to kill her friend, she had never spoke of bringing any harm to Brenna, and Megatron was becoming convinced that Mercy was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Mercy," he said suddenly, "We need to get out of this forest and find a new hiding place."

"What's wrong with here?"

"I don't feel comfortable being here much longer. I'm afraid the owner of this land will spot us if we're not careful."

"Shawn Lewis."

"Who?"

"Shawn Lewis, he's the owner of this property, I read it on a posted sign."

"I…see. You know this planet better than I do though, any idea where we could go that wouldn't require opening a dimension gate?"

Mercy didn't know what a dimension gate was and simply replied, "Home."

"I'm not taking you—

"THERE SHE IS!" shouted a male voice suddenly.

Both Megatron and Mercy snapped their attention to the woods where they had heard that voice originate from. Slowly Mercy stood as she saw police officers coming through the forest towards the clearing, some had dogs, but so far the dogs were being held back since she wasn't running. "It's the cops," she breathed, but Megatron heard.

He transformed into his car mode and commanded, "Get in!"

Mercy looked to him and then backed to the police. She examined them for a moment, and saw a man dressed like a farmer was leading them through the forest. _"Shawn Lewis,"_ she thought plainly and then started running over to Megatron…who was on the other side of the clearing.

"She's running!" another officer bellowed.

"Should we let the dogs loose on her?" asked another.

"Not yet," came another officer.

And a few of the officers pulled out their guns and began running as fast as they could through the forest after Mercy. It was only seconds before the officers broke into the clearing and were right on her tail. The android had never been one for running, and she knew now that her efforts to get to Megatron were most likely going to prove futile. Especially when her foot caught on a tree root that she had not seen and she fell…feet away from Megatron.

The officers were on top of her too quickly and knocked the wind right out of her as they pinned her to the ground and painfully yanked her arms behind her back and slapped handcuffs around her wrists. Mercy didn't bother to struggle, she was caught and she was going to jail…as for Megatron…she'd probably never see him again.

"You have the right to remain silent," spoke an officer as he pulled her roughly to her feet, "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

He gripped her firmly by the elbow and continued, "You are hereby under arrest and charged with the murder of Brenna Meyers."

"_**Mercy fight back! Use your ability of fire or something, just get away!"**_

"_It's no use, I can't move my arms. It was nice knowing you, Megatron."_

"_**No! I will not allow this!"**_

"_Don't get me in anymore trouble than I already am!"_

And Megatron didn't move. He knew there was a small chance that Mercy could get out of this still…but how was he to collect her energy while she was sitting, rotting away in a jail cell? Why did all the bad things that could possibly happen, happen? Megatron wasn't sure if there was a point in his life where he had ever been this frustrated or confused.

One of the officers took out a two way radio and spoke into it saying, "Officer Barnes to dispatch, I am requesting a tow truck. We have a vehicle here that needs to be taken to a forensic lab for examination."

"Copy that, over."

And the officer reattached the radio to his belt.

* * *

Mercy reached the road and saw the police cars there. The police officer that held her by the arm led her over to his car and Shawn Lewis wasn't too far away answering questions from another officer. As Mercy walked by the man she said softly, "Sorry about trespassing on your land Mr. Lewis." 

Shawn was baffled as to how she knew his name, forgetting about the posted signs he had custom made and put up. The officer merely ignored her and opened the back door to his car where he shoved Mercy in, fastened her seatbelt, and shut the door. He then went around to the front and got in behind the wheel. The android looked out the window as he shut the door and fastened his seatbelt before driving away.

* * *

Megatron had to suppress a groan as he was hooked up to the tow truck. He couldn't drive in his vehicle form anyway since he lacked the energy to do so, but he really didn't like this method of transportation…let alone the thought that he was going to a laboratory to be picked apart for clues. He would have to get away, somehow…he could fly in his robot form, which would get him an escape, he only had to make sure no one was around when he did so. But as for Mercy? He would have to find her escape too…after he found her. 

It wasn't too long before Mercy and the officer arrived at the prison and she saw the sidewalk lined with reporters. She hated this. "I'm not getting out until those reporters are gone," she said.

"Look, you got yourself into this mess, you'll deal with the consequences," and he parked the car in front of the jail and proceeded to get out and come over to her door. He opened it and glaring, Mercy stepped out of the car.

She heard cameras click and a buzz of words as the reporters began speaking into their microphones. The officer led her around the car and towards the prison. As they walked microphones were shoved into her face and questions attacked her.

"Did you kill Brenna?"

"What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Where'd you get the gun?"

"Where'd you get the car?"

"Do you feel guilty at all for killing a person?"

Mercy stopped dead in her tracks and turned to the reporters shouting, "I DIDN'T KILL BRENNA! IT WAS HER STALKER!"

The police officer tried to restrain her, but Mercy fought against him continuing, "Why don't you idiots go focus on something else! My life is none of your business! Worry about your own!"

"Is it true your gym teacher tried to drown you?" questioned another reporter.

Mercy shot that reporter a glare and turned back to the prison. She began walking forward of her own volition and the officer took her by the arm and guided her in the correct direction. "Anymore behavior like that," he said, "And you'll be in here a long, long time."

Mercy sighed as they stepped inside the prison. She just wanted to go home…and she almost wished she was dead like Brenna. The android hated her life and she had no idea how things could get any better, only worse.

* * *

It was almost nightfall before Mercy was finally placed in a prison cell to her lonesome. She had been questioned and interrogated all afternoon…and she was exhausted now. And she was going to be questioned again tomorrow and assigned a lawyer since she obviously didn't have one. Mercy had a feeling it would just be some cheesy lawyer who did not care if she was innocent or not…and she could picture herself frying in the electric chair. 

Mercy sat down on the cot in her cell, wondering if her parents were watching the news. They wouldn't recognize their girl anymore from the photos…but they would fromher name. She wondered if they cared or not that their daughter was currently sitting in a cold jail cell trying to maintain her temper and sanity. Mercy wanted to know why they had just gone and left her, why they still sent her money but never came home. What had she done to make them hate her so? Or had she done anything wrong? Had something happened and they couldn't get home, so they sent her money? They never sent her cards or anything…no letters, no pictures, just money for the bills. It made Mercy wonder what would have happened to her if Megatron had never come along.

She smiled as she laid down and decided to get some sleep. He was the worst, yet the best thing to happen to her. Despite all the pain and harm he had inflicted upon her he had been the best of company…he kept her from being lonely…and he acted like he cared sometimes, even if he really didn't care about her at all. That was another reason why she had grown feelings for him probably.

And she missed him…too much.

* * *

Megatron was relieved when he was unhooked from the tow truck and heard it drive away. Voices that had annoyed him the way here were now gone, and he knew he was alone somewhere in a garage. Tomorrow he had to leave to find Mercy, there was no telling what would happen if she was left alonein the prisontoo long. He had a feeling that either one of the officers or the prison itself would go up in flames. 

He was just surprised to realize he was _worried_ about her.

* * *

So...Mercy is a jail bird and Megatron is in the hands of scientists...wonder how this is gonna go down. Anywho, read and review Twisted Worlds by Deceptigirl...but don't forget to leave a review for this chappie! Thankies! 


	16. Homecoming

Remarkable, I've updated two stories in one weekend. Oh well. If I have the time I'll update the other two that I'm writing next weekend. Just so you people's know, spring break is only 10 school days away!

**Chapter Sixteen: Homecoming**

Early the next morning, Megatron was awake and planning his escape from the forensic laboratory. The last thing he was going to do was spend a day being dissected…if the scientists could dissect him. He was nothing more than a ghost right now, an apparition that had a body that could be felt and seen, but it was dead. It was complicated how the afterlife worked, but it worked wonders when it pleased. And Megatron was quite certain what he was going to do. He had a gun, in fact he had missiles. He would aim his guns at the security cameras and shoot them out before he would transform and blow the garage to smithereens, only then would he take his leave. The decepticon leader knew he would have to lay low the rest of the day since the police would be searching everywhere for him, but he figured he could find someplace to hide…and he would have to hide quickly. Megatron's vehicle forms were useless to him still; all he could do was fly in his robot form. But he figured he could spend the day using his telepathic link with Mercy to locate her and when night rolled around he would go and free her from whatever prison she was being kept in. Running a quick search on the internet, Megatron discovered that the state they were in, Pennsylvania, was a leader in the number prisons in the United States.

"_Whatever United States means,"_ thought the decepticon leader.

From what Megatron read, Pennsylvania contained nine federal prisons—he figured that meant government—and twenty-eight state prisons, but that didn't include local, town, or county prisons. Megatron thought about it for a minute. Due to the nature of the crime Mercy was accused of, she was most likely in one of the federal or state prisons, and if he could locate one in the area he was in, wherever he was, then perhaps he could get a hold of Mercy and find out if she was there or not. It sure would make his life easier if things proved to be that simple…he just had to get out of the forensic laboratory first. And he was sick of waiting.

There were four security cameras in the garage alone, one in each corner. Megatron wasn't worried about the rest that were probably outside the building. The blasts from his missiles would take care of those. Slowly, so anyone monitoring the cameras would not detect, he swiveled his guns around to point at one of the cameras. There was a single shot before the camera exploded and shards of it fell to the floor. Megatron made quick work of the other cameras as well. Abruptly he transformed into his robot form and proceeded to launch a missile through the garage door creating an explosion of purple, fire, smoke, debris, and dirt. He quickly flew through the hole he had created in the door and went on with launching one missile after another into the laboratory until it was engulfed in smoke, flame, and ruin. Before the smoke could begin to clear though, Megatron hastily made his escape.

He flew high into the sky and luckily for him it was a cloudy and overcast day. The decepticon leader could hide among the clouds until he found a place to temporarily stay until nightfall when he would go and locate Mercy. As he flew above the detection of the human eye, he scanned the ground for any place close to the town that he was in where he could take cover. He wanted to stay in a parking lot in his vehicle form, but everyone knew what his car form looked like. And his jet mode was much too small for him to take refuge in at any airport, if there was one. Suddenly he remembered something and wanted to slap himself mentally. He could go invisible. That meant he could spend the day looking for Mercy instead of waiting, and to Megatron that sounded so much better. He figured all he had to do was tap into the news reports being broadcasted by the humans. Humans were not a smart species, from the news reports he had watched with Mercy about the murder of Brenna they tended to give out very detailed information. And since Mercy had just been arrested and charged with the murder of Brenna, it was going to be all over the headlines…and possibly the location of the prison that she was being held in would be given.

Megatron figured he could do the best job where there was a lot of human activity and a place where he could easily pick up one of the news frequencies. And when he saw a building with a large satellite on top he figured that was a pretty good clue that something was broadcasted out of their. Especially since he spotted a human with a camera walking inside. Going invisible, he landed on the ground and followed the man inside the building. From all the bustling going on inside the place he could tell that it was a news station and all he had to do was listen in to whatever they said about Mercy. Walking around the station though, he found a studio with a sign above the door that was illuminated in red and said in capital letters, RECORDING.

Of course Megatron paid no mind to the sign as he opened the door and walked in. No one noticed and he stood over towards the back of the studio as he listened to the reporter talk. Apparently the broadcast was just starting as he listened to the reporter say, "…our top story this morning is the arrest of Mercy LeCroix that took place late yesterday morning right here in the outskirts of Indiana, Pennsylvania. Mercy was discovered by Shawn Lewis who was walking through his forest when he discovered the runaway girl hiding out in his woods. He immediately notified authorities who apprehended Mercy and formally charged her with the murder of Brenna Meyers. She was then taken to the State Correctional Institution located here in Indiana, Pennsylvania on Pine Grove Road…"

Megatron smirked, such stupid, stupid humans.

"The Institution is for youth's who have committed crimes similar to those committed by Mercy and the prison has maximum security," continued the reporter.

The decepticon leader watched as the reporter paused briefly and then said a bit surprised, "We have some breaking news, it—it appears the forensic laboratory where Mercy's car was taken has just been attacked and is in complete…ruin. The car belonging to Mercy is also missing—

Megatron took that as his cue to leave. As he exited the studio and the news station, he could hear emergency vehicles obviously headed in the direction of the laboratory he had just blown up. The decepticon leader knew that with Mercy's "car" missing that there would be even tighter security around her. That was unless he provided a distraction for her as well. That would allow him to help her escape. This was all a game to him, toying with the human law enforcement, but he found it to be quite pleasurable.

And he couldn't figure out why, but he was extremely eager to have Mercy back…in his arms.

* * *

Mercy sat in her dark cell staring down at the floor where a small patch of sunlight hit the floor. It was striped because of the bars that blocked the sun in the window. She felt so confined…there was just no way she could get out of here. And she didn't know how Megatron could ever find her…if he was looking. He was probably so fed up with her that he was just going to let her sit there and rot and find some other way to make it back into the living. And she had a feeling now that Megatron had changed her the way he did, she'd never be normal.

What if they found her guilty of murdering Brenna and gave her the death penalty? The electric chair wouldn't kill her. Her body would probably feed off the electric waves from the chair. And what if they decided to give her the lethal injection? That definitely wouldn't work on her. But if they gave her life in prison, they would slowly start to observe that she didn't eat, that she didn't go to the bathroom, and that she didn't age. Then questions would come and finally they would send her to a doctor, and when the doctor didn't find anything wrong with her, they would send her to a scientist…and then they would discover her true secret. That she really wasn't human at all. And Mercy doubted that they would believe her when she told them that she used to be human, that was until she met Megatron.

She sighed. She was scheduled for more questioning later on today. According to the time on her internal clock it was 7:32am. And since the sun was shining in her window she figured her cell was on the eastern side of the building.

If this was how the rest of her life was going to be, with unadorned concrete walls and black and white the only colors she had to paint with, just what would happen? She couldn't draw out the rest of her life because this was the only way it was going to be. Mercy would live in a world of ash and gray…the prison would be her own void of emptiness that Megatron had warned her about. She would become prisoner to herself and ripped away from the world. And that was the last thing she wanted, a life of nothingness. Perhaps, from the very beginning, she had just been trying to break away from the boring and repetitive routine of her life.

Keys rattled outside her door and she looked up as a guard opened her door and said gruffly, "Come along Mercy."

Mercy stood, she hated the orange jumpsuit she was wearing, and went over to the door where the officer took her arms behind her back and handcuffed her. She sighed feeling so helpless and angry…what was she now, some kind of animal? He then took her by the shoulder and then pushed her forward. Mercy then began walking figuring it was time for her questioning…although it was awfully early. It wouldn't make sense for them to question her this early, unless they had known she was awake, but there weren't any security cameras in her room…that couldn't have been the case, unless something else was up.

The officer took her to the questioning room where a man in a suit was waiting. He removed the cuffs from Mercy's wrists and told her to take a seat, which she did. The officer then left the room, where he shut the door, but kept guard outside. The man looked up at her, he appeared to be in his thirties, and he had sandy colored hair and a pinstripe suit. He was rather good looking, but Mercy just wanted to leave the room.

"I take it you're Mercy LeCroix," the man said and then added, "I'm Mark Sullivan."

"Are you my lawyer?" she asked.

"Yes actually. I have every intention of making sure you're proven innocent."

Mercy glanced away from him and remarked, "Good luck with that."

"Just what happened the night of the murder? Were you at Brenna's house?"

There was a knock at the door suddenly before a couple officers burst into the room and looked angrily to Mercy before saying, "Excuse me Mr. Sullivan, we need to speak to Mercy privately."

Mark simply nodded his head and left the room. One of the officers took his seat while another stood beside him. The seated officer asked, "Where is your car?"

"My car?" she inquired confused.

"The forensic laboratory we took it to was bombed this morning and destroyed, your car is missing, do you know any reason as to why this happened?" the standing officer asked in a calmer voice.

Mercy plastered a look of complete shock on her face even though it was fake, "Bombed?"

"Yes bombed, did you have anything to do with it?"

"No, how could I? I was here."

"You didn't have any bombs in the car did you?"

"No!" Mercy growled, "I'm sick of you idiots blaming me for things I didn't do! Take me back to my cell _now_; I don't have to be questioned if I don't want to."

The seated officer slammed his fist down on the table, "Not until I—we are through with you."

"I suppose then I can use police brutality against you in court!" she shouted.

The officer stood, his chair falling over as he did so and he whispered in a deadly low voice, "Alright you can go back to your cell, but you haven't seen the last of me, do you understand?"

She glared right on back as she said, "Oh you bet I have."

The other officer quickly intervened and took Mercy back to her cell and locked the door. She sat back down on her cot and glared at the wall. She hated this place, oh how she hated this place. If they didn't start believing her soon, there was going to be a burning. And she would watch as everyone burned to ash and then she would make her escape.

Plus if she had luck on her side, maybe, just maybe she could find Megatron again, whether he wanted to find her or not.

* * *

Megatron didn't feel like walking so he slowly flew, combing the streets looking for Pine Grove Road. He kept telling himself that the only reason why he was so determined to find Mercy was because he needed to collect her energy so he could be brought back among the living. But a little voice in the back of his head was telling him otherwise, that the real reason he was so determined to find her was because he cared. The last thing he wanted to do was listen to that voice, he knew the moment he was back among the living and the instant he could leave this mud ball of a planet would be the best thing for him. And he refused to let any sort of voice begin to tell him that he couldn't leave Mercy behind and that he had to either take her with him or not even leave at all.

He growled under his breath. Nothing, not even some femme, some _girl_ would prevent him from getting what he wanted. The universe would be his, and when it was, he would rule it the way it should be ruled. And perhaps, maybe he would settle down with a femme and produce heirs…but why would he need heirs if he was going to live forever? Just what was the use of settling down if he could have all the femmes he wanted anyway? But what if his thoughts got the best of him and he decided he only wanted…Mercy?

The decepticon leader quickly shook his head and resumed his search for Pine Grove Road. And it wasn't long before he came across a street sign that read Pine Grove Rd. He began flying down that road and he ended up going down it for about a mile and a half before he came across the prison. He recognized it because of the tall fence with barbed wire curled at the top and security guards with guns posted all over the place. Figuring he was close enough, he decided he would try and get a hold of Mercy through his telepathic link. He hovered around the prison as he did so, trying to pinpoint any weaknesses within the security system.

"_**Mercy…"**_

* * *

Mercy was shocked when she suddenly heard the decepticon leader call her name in her head. Was he looking for her? Did he care, oh did he care?

"_Megatron? Where are you? I heard what happened over at the lab…I'm guessing that was your doing."_

* * *

Megatron was relieved when he received Mercy's reply…and it surprised him when he felt a tinge of happiness erupt in his abdomen. He shoved it aside before it had the chance to spread.

"_**I'm outside the prison, where's your cell?"**_

"_All I know is that it's on the eastern side of the building."_

"_**Alright, and just so you know, your guess about what happened to the lab was correct. I was not about to stay there a moment longer. I figured I'd just make my leave…interesting."**_

"_Interesting indeed, but I'm receiving the blame for it."_

"_**What? Why are they blaming you? Aren't you under their constant visual?"**_

"_They think I had bombs in the car—you."_

"_**Humans are so stupid it disgusts me. Do you have a window in your cell?"**_

"_Yes."_

"_**Are you in your cell at the moment?"**_

"_Yes."_

"_**In that case I'm going to come around and peer into windows until I find you."**_

"_Why are you trying to find me?"_

"_**How else can I break you out of this place?"**_

"_You mean you're going to free me?"_

"_**Whatever made you think that I wasn't going to?"**_

She didn't reply and Megatron went on to say, _**"Mercy…how am I supposed to make it back amongst the living without you? Is there something else bothering you, something else that you haven't mentioned to me? I've noticed you've been more withdrawn and wrapped up in your thoughts lately."**_

"_I've noticed the same about you."_

Megatron didn't know what to say…she wasn't supposed to have noticed. And suddenly he realized he was comforting her, something that was against his rules. He didn't comfort anybody, but yet this wasn't the first time he comforted Mercy. Whatever it was, the girl was severely affecting him and he wasn't so sure if he could just ignore it like he had been or if he should just confront his emotions and tell Mercy his thoughts. He closed his telepathic link as he thought it over. But, just what would he tell Mercy? _"You're not the girl I thought you were and I've been having these thoughts…these feelings about you. And you're always on my mind. I hate you Mercy, but I don't know what's going on."_

The decepticon leader knew he couldn't tell her that last part only because he wasn't sure himself whether or not it was true. He didn't hate her. Megatron had already come to that realization. The only thing he was trying to do now was isolate himself from the thoughts that he was having, along with the feelings, and attempt to carry on as if nothing was bothering him.

Opening his telepathic link he continued on a new subject, _**"Nonetheless, I am going to locate you and get you out of there tonight. After that we will head back to your hometown and you will take up a disguise. From there we will try to find the person who killed Brenna."**_

Mercy felt stun run cold through her circuits. Had Megatron really just said that? Was some sort of new change coming over him? He never used to be this nice to her, but why now? What had she done to convince him? Was it because she showed him her memories? She didn't know, but she had to ask, _"You don't believe I killed Brenna anymore?"_

"_**No I don't."**_

"_Why?"_

"_**I shouldn't because of all the times you've lied to me, but perhaps everyone deserves a second chance."**_

"_Thank you Megatron."_

He didn't reply and Mercy believed he was flying around trying to locate her cell. That was until there was a tap at her window, but she didn't see anyone there. Slowly though a figure began to ink in and she recognized it as Megatron's familiar form.

"_**Primus, orange is not your color. Do you have your clothes with you?"**_

"_No. They confiscated everything but my undergarments. I don't know where they are."_

"_**I'll find you something then. We can't have you running around in that, it's an obvious give away."**_

"_Alright."_

"_**I'll be back later on tonight to get you out of here. Until then, Mercy."**_

"_Until tonight, Megatron."_

And he disappeared and Mercy felt alone all over again. She could hardly wait for tonight to come and she prayed she wouldn't have to deal with that officer again.

* * *

Megatron headed back towards Indiana to find a store so he could hopefully find Mercy something to wear. He browsed about the town for a few minutes until he found a clothing store and he wanted to kick himself when he realized that he didn't remember to get Mercy's sizes. That left him to guess everything. And he wasn't going to get her anything spectacular either.

Luckily the store wasn't very busy and he went directly to the women's section where he picked out a pair of gray sweatpants he figured would fit Mercy and then found a dark blue hoodie with some sort of symbol on it that he didn't recognize or cared to recognize. Megatron stored these items in his subspace and figured he should try to find a hardware store and perhaps get a chain or a soldering utensil so he could either pull out or melt the bars over Mercy's window. He left the clothing store without detection and it wasn't long until he found a hardware store and shoplifted a few items he figured would all be beneficial.

And he was ready for tonight.

* * *

It was completely pitch black outside when Mercy heard a tap against the bars of her window. She looked over and saw Megatron outside and he motioned for her not to look at him and pretend she was asleep incase one of the guards came by. Mercy did as he requested and went over to her cot and laid down on it, feigning sleep as she listened to Megatron work outside. It was every now and then she would hear a clink against the bars, but other than that he was very quiet. Suddenly she heard a loud bang and the ground vibrated a bit.

"_What was that?"_

"_**I set a bomb way over on the other side of the building. More will go off periodically to keep the guards away from this section of the prison."**_

"_You like to blow things up, don't you?"_

"_**Yes, it's very enjoyable."**_

Mercy smirked and then she heard metal groaning as if it were under stress until there was a pop. She looked over to see Megatron had removed the bars to the window though she wasn't sure how. But now he had to do away with the window. Suddenly there was a bigger explosion, a bit closer than the first one, and the vibrations from it knocked out the window in Mercy's room. She grinned sitting up. "Nice idea," she exclaimed.

"Come on, we haven't got much time," Megatron said.

Mercy went over to the window, but it was so high above her head she couldn't even jump up to it. Megatron noticed and leaned inside and extended his arm down to her as far as he could. 

Mercy was able to reach his hand and grabbed hold of it and he pulled up to the window and helped her through it. It was then Mercy saw the blow torch lying on the ground along with the two metal bars that had been over her window. Apparently he had melted them and pulled them out. Mercy sat in the window, looking at Megatron, taking the moment a little more romantically than she should have. Just a day without the other had proven to be hard enough. Mercy had missed him. And Megatron glumly admitted to himself that he had missed her as well. Her helped her out of the window and pulled her tightly in his arms and hugged her saying, "Promise me you won't let the police catch you again."

She smiled, "I promise."

"Good," he replied, "Hold on to me for a minute."

Mercy didn't know if he meant that he needed to be held or if he wanted her to hold him, she just didn't know what he meant as she slid her arms around his neck and held. He suddenly let her go and Mercy gripped him tighter, using the tips of his feet to remain standing and to keep from hanging in midair. He took out a device from his subspace and programmed it before setting it in the window sill. Mercy didn't have to look twice to realize it was a bomb. He then gripped her by the waist and then quickly flew off away from the prison. He was going to make sure they were out of Indiana, Pennsylvania before he took to his car mode and let Mercy change from her prison suit.

When they were a few miles out of Indiana and on an abandoned dirt road, Megatron landed and let Mercy free from his grasp. He handed her the clothes he had shoplifted and said, "Hurry up and change, it won't be long until the police are after us again. We need to get you a disguise."

"Oh…how wonderful, now don't look," she stated and waited until he turned around before she stripped out of her prison suit and put on the sweatpants and the hoodie. The hoodie was a little big, along with the sweatpants, but they would do until Mercy could get some better clothes, "Okay, you can look."

Megatron turned back around and glanced at the prison suit before saying, "Burn that, we don't want anyone finding it."

Mercy waded her orange suit into a small ball and took it in both hands and incinerated it. She didn't stop until every last thread was ash. Megatron then transformed into his car mode and told Mercy to get in, which she did. Once she was in, he let his engine roar to life and headed off down the road.

The girl smiled, "Since you can control your vehicle modes again, I'm going to take a little nap."

Megatron was in disbelief, he had managed to collect enough energy to control his vehicle forms again. And as he thought back, he realized there had been a lot of positive energy between him and Mercy that day allowing him to collect a sufficient suppy of energy.

And as he drove Mercy back home he couldn't help but think that perhaps it wouldn't be long now until he could go home, to his real home, himself.

* * *

So ends this chapter. Now there are ten more chapters to write and this story will be done. No kidding either, I've got the rest of this story all planned out. Thankies to everyone who has been reviewing, I appreciate it. Please leave a review on your way out!


	17. The Hiding Place

Well...I got thinking about how I said this story was almost done and decided that it was, until I realized I wanted to add something more to it. So yeah, I don't think this story is almost done anymore...I just have to think about whether or not I want to add that certain part (and so far I'm leaning towards adding it). Anyhow, here's chapter seventeen.

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**Chapter Seventeen: The Hiding Place**

Megatron couldn't believe how happy he was just to have control over his vehicle forms again. It felt so good knowing that he had more independence now since no one had to drive him around anymore. But he couldn't figure out how he had collected so much energy so quickly. On the way over to the prison he didn't have control, at least he didn't think he did, he hadn't tried going over in one of his vehicle modes. Was it the urgent need to free Mercy that had caused him to collect so much energy so quickly? Was it the energy he had put into rescuing her? Or…was the energy collected from the emotion of just having Mercy back? Megatron hated all these questions, he wanted answers. But it seemed whenever he found out the answer to one question, it only sparked another series of questions.

"Mercy, are you asleep?" he asked in a soft tone.

"No," she replied hoarsely, as though she had been asleep.

Megatron ignored her tone and continued, "Any ideas what we could do for your disguise? I'm not into makeovers, but since you're a girl, you probably have more knowledge on that subject than I do."

"We could dye my hair a different color."

"Hair dye won't work on your hair."

"Why not?"

"You don't have human hair…your hair is metallic."

"Oh, perhaps a wig then."

"Alright," Megatron replied trying to think of where they could get a wig that would last, a…professional…wig.

"I read a book once, I can't remember what it was, but they said weight gain is the best disguise for a skinny person."

"I don't think you'll pull that off."

"I don't think so either…but I don't know, I could wear a different style of clothing that I normally don't wear, get glasses…that's all I can think of," Mercy suggested.

"Can you change your eye color?"

"Not that I know of."

"We'll have to use the ideas you gave then. I think we can pull it off, how good are you at acting?"

"It depends on the role I have to play…just what do you have in mind?" questioned Mercy.

"Talk like that Brittany person, like her friends. Act like them too, that way people won't think you're Mercy."

"I'm going to have to use a fake name."

"We'll come up with that later," Megatron answered, "Any ideas as to where we could stay when we get back?"

"Um…there's an abandoned house not far from where I live…well, lived. It's only been abandoned a year or so, it can't be in that bad of shape."

"Let's hope not," Megatron replied.

The two of them went along in silence. Megatron figured he would have to get Mercy reenrolled into the school curriculum under her fake name, which they still had yet to come up with. This was all so complicated, trying to hide Mercy. He wondered if the guards back at the prison thought Mercy was dead. However, when they failed to find any trace of her body they might suspect differently. Unless they figured her body had been blown to bits in the explosion. Megatron didn't know what the damage looked like in her cell and he wasn't about to turn around and find out either.

Megatron and Mercy had been travelling for a couple hours now, on the back roads, Megatron weaving Mercy's way home while she weaved his. The decepticon leader checked the time on his internal clock and saw it was a little past midnight. He heard Mercy yawn from where she was seated and felt her try to get as comfortable as she could in the seat. He reclined it for her and turned up the heat a bit so she could stay warm. He hadn't had a chance to examine her temperature control system, and he knew that she tended to get really cold at night.

"Thanks Megatron," she whispered.

"I'm going to be stopping soon, so try not to fall asleep."

"Stopping? Why stopping?"

"There's a hair salon up here somewhere," Megatron explained, "I remember passing it on the way down."

"Oh, to get the wig."

"Precisely, now is there a color for the wig that you would prefer?"

"I think blonde would be the safest," Mercy replied, eyes closed, "Anything else might hint at my identity."

Megatron didn't say anything and after a few more minutes of driving, he slowed down until he stopped outside a salon that was closed for the night. It was pitch black outside being the dead of night, and Megatron and Mercy were the only ones around. The restraining bar lifted over Mercy's head and his cockpit opened. The android yawned and crawled out, stumbling as she did so and nearly fell over when her feet hit the ground. She caught herself and turned around to see Megatron already transformed and looking at her with an expression of curiosity on his face. It quickly disappeared though and the decepticon leader ordered, "Stay here, if anyone should happen to come by, run and find a decent place to hide."

"As you command," she yawned and leaned against the side of the building.

Megatron glanced at her before punching a hole in the glass door and unlocking the door from the inside. He then opened the door and went inside, looking for a blonde wig. The place reeked of hairspray and nail polish…and he could identify all the chemicals that went along with them to create those smells. He glanced around and saw a few manikins with wigs on them. One wig was spiky black hair that wouldn't suit Mercy, let alone cover her hair. There was an auburn one, but that was Mercy's old hair color so it wouldn't work. His optics skipped over the red-orange wig, along with the brunette, and finally they rested on a blonde wig. Megatron walked over to it and examined it. The hair was straight and stylish, if Mercy put it on, the hair would fall just below the shoulders, but it was long enough and it would work to hide her purple locks. Megatron took the wig and walked out of the salon where Mercy now sat leaning against the side of the building, asleep.

The decepticon leader sighed, he hated to wake her, but he knew they had to get going. "Mercy," he spoke up, "Wake up."

Her eyes snapped open and she blinked a couple times before she yawned and stretched. She slowly stood and tried to rub the sleep from her eyes as she asked, "Did you get the wig?"

"Yes, come on, we need to get you some clothes now."

"Alright," she replied hoarsely.

"I'll let you sleep soon," he said handing her the wig and then transformed into his car mode.

Mercy got in and relaxed into the seat as the restraining bar came over her. She set the wig on her lap and slowly stroked her fingers through it as Megatron pulled away from the salon and back onto the road. She sighed and looked out the cockpit, tired, but unable to sleep, and bored, but unable to keep herself entertained. They drove in silence for a little while until they came upon a department store, a Wal-Mart to be precise, and pulled into the darkened and empty parking lot. He had a feeling security cameras were around, so he went invisible, cloaking both him and Mercy from the view of the cameras. Megatron circled around a couple times trying to figure out what to do. Mercy couldn't go invisible, so he couldn't bring her in the store with him, or she'd be seen and he didn't want people to know her location. He had to have her hide somewhere out of the detection of the cameras and the human eye. He got an idea and went into his jet mode.

"What are you doing?" Mercy asked as he climbed into the air.

"I'm going to put you on the roof."

"What for?"

"No one will see you up there, not even the security cameras," Megatron explained.

"I see…just don't forget about me up there," Mercy said as she felt the decepticon leader's jet form land on the roof of the Wal-Mart.

The restraining bar lifted off of Mercy and the cockpit opened seconds after the restraining bar was off. Tiredly, the android climbed out of Megatron and stood on the roof unable to see him or where he was. She heard him transform, most likely into his robot mode and she looked to that direction, not sure if she was looking at him or not.

"What size do you wear?" he asked.

"Shirts, just get a medium of everything, unless it looks small, get a large. As for pants, I'm a size six."

Megatron tightened his lips not wanting to ask this, but he knew he had to, "What about you're…undergarments?"

Mercy sighed and told him, as embarrassing as it was. At least he was thinking of the things she needed. She hadn't even thought about that, and she was almost glad he did because she wasn't going to wear the same bra, socks, and underwear everyday; she just thought that would be disgusting. Even though she was an android and couldn't really get them dirty anymore, it just didn't settle well with her. Mercy heard some glass break below her and figured that that was Megatron breaking into the store. How puzzling it would be for law enforcement tomorrow when they reviewed the security cameras only to see glass breaking by itself and clothes leaving by themselves.

The android sat down, leaning against an air-conditioning unit or a generator, she wasn't sure what it was. She sighed and cast a look up to the sky. Mercy felt His eyes looking down upon her as the store was being robbed below her. She knew He understood that nearly everything she had done had been for her own gain. And she really, really, really hoped that He would forgive her for everything wrong that she had done. She had been so selfish ever since the very beginning. Mercy felt like she had been a stuck up brat her entire life. Perhaps she had felt so sorry for herself that she felt everyone had to feel sorry for her. She shook her head. Her life had always been out of control…and it seemed that it always would be.

She had been born out of drunkenness. Her parents had been out partying during their final semester of college when her mother was conceived. Mercy remembered watching them as she grew up, how they almost always argued with one another. Her mother wanted to move to Texas for a while to be with her family, her father wanted to start his own business. Eventually he did and both he and her mother became salesmen for the company. Mercy remembered the night her mother and father tucked her into bed and convinced her they were going on a vacation for a little while and that they would be home soon, that was only a couple years ago, but it seemed like just yesterday. She recalled waking up the next morning only to walk through the house and discover that she was really alone, and there wasn't a feeling more terrible in the world than that the next few days as she realized at the age of only fourteen how hard it was to live on her own without a job and without a car…without hardly anything.

And now that Megatron had come into the picture and freed her from her loneliness, if only temporarily, she still had been so grateful for it. And she was wishing and praying that he wouldn't leave. No, she didn't want him to return wherever it was he was going only so he would run the risk of dying again. She felt attached to him, so attached to him. And she didn't want to just see him walk away; especially after all they had been through. She didn't understand how it could be so easy for him to do so, but yet she did understand. He was heartless, completely and absolutely emotionless, impassive, blank, inexpressive, cold, unaffected, detached…everything along those lines that she could think of. Mercy couldn't even begin to imagine how he could live being that way. She didn't want him to, she believed he didn't deserve to, but she had a feeling that she couldn't change that, how he felt was entirely up to him. She just didn't want him to look down upon her anymore so carelessly.

"Alright Mercy, let's go."

The android nearly jumped out of her metallic skin as she looked in the direction where she had heard the voice, "Megatron?! Give me a warning next time!"

He chuckled.

"Where are the clothes?" she asked.

"I put them in my subspace so the cameras wouldn't detect me coming up here. I'll give them to you once we get settled in that abandoned house you were talking about."

"Alright," Mercy replied standing, "Let's go."

Megatron reappeared so Mercy could see him so that she could get in him without any difficulty. She got in and when she was settled, Megatron turned back invisible and took off back towards the android's town. He still wasn't so sure about returning like this. He knew he couldn't travel in his vehicle form because someone was libel to recognize him and turn in Mercy. He would have to find an alternate form when he ventured the streets, though he could just always stay invisible. Turning invisible wasn't a bad thing; it was just proving to be rather annoying right now.

He just wasn't sure about blending in with the human race.

* * *

"Mercy, wake up," came Megatron's voice.

He was flying over the town, it was just a little past 1:30am and Mercy had fallen asleep on the flight back from Wal-Mart. He knew she was tired, but he didn't know where the house was that she was talking about and he would need her directions. Megatron felt Mercy shift in his seat and thought she was waking up until he heard her sigh and she didn't move or say anything.

"Mercy, wake up!" he repeated, this time a lot louder, he was exhausted himself and didn't want to prolong sleep much longer.

"What is it?" she mumbled hoarsely as she finally came out of her slumber.

"We're back in your town, now where's that house?" Megatron inquired impatiently.

"Not far from where I live, just get to my house," Mercy said, eyes feeling glued shut.

The decepticon leader kept a growl in as he landed and transformed into his car mode. He sped to Mercy's house and stopped in front of it. Mercy forced her eyes open and looked at it. Yellow tape that said in bold capital letters POLICE LINE DO NOT CROSS surrounded the property and made Mercy long to jump out of Megatron and tear the tape down so she could get back into her home. It was heartbreaking to see her home but not be able to get inside…to see her home ripped away from her…so much had happened in that house, and she missed it.

"Mercy, I'm tired, where is the house?"

"Keep driving straight, I'll tell you when to stop."

Megatron drove forward and Mercy's eyes were unwillingly pealed away from the house, her house. She sighed heavily and leaned into the seat. It had been a long night…too long for her liking. She had a feeling that the news of the bombing at the jail was all over the media now and that she was once again a missing person. She just hoped people wouldn't suspect she came back to her hometown hoping to blend in as a new person. Readjusting as someone she wasn't was going to be so hard, but if she was able to prove her innocence, then so be it.

Mercy glanced out of the cockpit and saw the house come into view and said, "That's it up there."

"Good, it's not too close to your other house."

Mercy thought the terminology Megatron had used in his last sentence was rather interesting considering her old home wasn't anybody's house anymore, and she certainly didn't own this one.

Megatron sighed as he pulled into the driveway of the home and opened his cockpit so Mercy could get out. She did, and he transformed into his robot mode as soon as she had. He glanced around, thankful that there weren't any neighbors and that they were alone. He made himself visible and placed a hand on the small of Mercy's back. "After you," he said.

She glanced at him and walked up to the door and tried it, but it was locked. Megatron sighed seeing this and walked up to the door. He pulled Mercy out of the way and with one kick the door was open and the android was looking at him in awe. Megatron went in, dragging Mercy behind him and shut the door behind her. The android groped the walls for a light switch, and she flicked one when she found it but the lights didn't come on. She figured that the electricity had been turned off here since nobody had been here to pay the bills.

Megatron, since he could see, glanced around to sum up the condition of the house. Mercy was right, besides the fact that the place was extremely dusty and there were a few cobwebs here and there, the house was in a rather decent condition. Sure it needed some tender loving care in some areas, but given a few days to fix things, the house would be alright. The people who had formally owned the house didn't leave behind any sort of furniture though, so the two of them would have to do something about the sleeping arrangements. Megatron glanced over to Mercy only to see her standing by the door with a blank look on her face.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"I can't see anything," she replied.

He sighed heavily and lifted her in his arms saying, "Come on, let's find a place to sleep." He felt her snuggle into him, and he looked down at her just as she laid her head on his chest and fell asleep. The decepticon leader felt warmth swell inside his spark and spread up to his cheeks and he quickly looked down and away from Mercy when he realized he was blushing.

Megatron walked through what he guessed was the kitchen and into the living room where he found a staircase. He climbed the stairs and once up on the second floor of the home, he spotted a heavy old couch that the previous owners had obviously not cared about and left behind. Megatron claimed it immediately and plopped down on it, exhausted. He laid down, so happy to finally be able to get some rest, and he laid Mercy on top of him. The decepticon leader held her securely in his arms to make sure she wouldn't role off him onto the floor.

He stroked a hand down through her hair before he finally fell asleep.

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Seventeen chapters in and still no romance, just fluff. You guys must like being tortured or something. What if I told you guys there isn't going to be romance? hears threats to stop reading the story and boos Heh...no worries, the romance is coming very soon now...and when I say very soon, I mean in (checks outline for this story) 4-5 chapters. Expect increased fluffiness though...lots of increased fluffiness...

I've noticed though that this story doesn't seem to be very popular and I spent some time (two days actually) re-editing over half of the chapters on this story and changing them in certain places. So, I was wondering if you guys could do me a huge favor and keep on reviewing as you have been and tell some of your friends (who might be interested) about this story...I know this is very selfish on my part, and please forgive me, I'm just having my doubts on this story right now. In the mean time, please do a good deed (in my opinion) and review! That's all I ask of you...XD


	18. False Identities

Well, I finally had time in my busy life to update something. Things have been kinda rough lately, so don't expect very frequent updates for the next six weeks or so until the school year ends. But anywho...here's the next chappie.

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**Chapter Eighteen: False Identities**

Warm air pooled and rippled down his front, sending brief glimpses of ecstasy shivering through Megatron as he woke up. Pale blue optics flared online and caught sight of the android still sound asleep on top of him, yet during the night she had slid up his body so that her head was now beside his and her breath hitting his neck. Megatron bit back a groan trying not to let it show that he liked the effect Mercy's breathing was having on him. His hands worked before his mind though, and fingers and palms slid along soft, warm fabric, hesitating at the pant-line and the edge of her shirt. A hand eventually found its way to Mercy's neck and gently glided upwards until it was cupping her cheek and tilting her head back. Megatron leaned forward, lowering his lips to meet Mercy's and raising hers to meet his. His face was a breath away from hers when the android suddenly gripped him tighter and allowed a small moan to escape her throat.

And his mech fluids froze inside him like time itself had been stopped.

Megatron laid back; staring up at the dull ceiling of the abandoned home he was now taking refuge in with Mercy. _"Primus I did not…no…ugh what is wrong with me?"_ he thought bitterly. His life was taking its own course, one that he had no control over, not that he ever had control, but something like this had never happened. He had never gotten _attached_ to anyone. And Megatron knew he was attached to Mercy in more than one way. He had attached himself to her because without her, he would never come back to life; he attached himself to her by creating the telepathic link that they shared; he was attached to her now…through his spark he feared. He really needed to talk to Mercy.

Nudging her slightly he asked, "Mercy, are you awake?"

She groaned softly and stirred, looking up at him. She sighed hoarsely, "Yeah, what is it?"

"N-Nothing. You can go back to sleep."

Mercy gave him a quizzical look, "Is something wrong? Do you want to get up?"

"I'm fine, just go back to sleep."

She looked at him a few moments longer before she laid her head back under his chin and sighed heavily. Megatron wrapped his arms around her tightly, stroking his fingers through her lavender locks. His mind was too bothered for him to try and go back to sleep. His systems had gotten enough recharge as it was. He thought about what needed to be accomplished that day…Mercy had to come up with a fake name and reenroll into the school system so she could possibly find clues there. That meant making false papers and everything…he knew how, it wouldn't take long, it was just an annoying process. But that wasn't what was bothering him…it was what he felt deep down inside that was.

Was it possible for love to be born out of evil? Just what evil had ever loved or been loved? But why was he asking himself these questions if he was just going to leave Mercy behind in the end? There was no use in finding out if nothing was going to become of them, if he was going to prevent anything from happening between them. But he didn't know if he could for much longer. And he knew he didn't have to deny it to himself any longer, he _wanted_ her, oh he wanted her so bad. His want was so much worse than a hunger, it was worse than a burning desire. It was something he couldn't describe…and he didn't think he ever could.

"Mercy?"

"Yeah?"

He hesitated and opened his mouth to ask her if any evil humans had loved or been loved, but if he asked her about the humans who ruled as dictators and tyrants, he would be revealing so much, and he just couldn't do that. Instead he found himself saying, "I thought I told you to go back to sleep."

She sighed heavily as a response and ignored him from there. Megatron sighed lightly himself before looking back up to the ceiling. He wasn't sure how long they had been laying there when Mercy finally spoke up after what seemed an eternity of silence, "I'm getting up."

Megatron didn't say anything as he felt Mercy slide off him. He merely gazed at her as she combed a few fingers through her hair in an attempt to neaten it…it had been a few days since she last had been able to brush it. She glanced around before turning to Megatron and asking, "Just what are we doing today?"

"_We…"_ Megatron thought as he sat up, Mercy's words playing through his head. They weren't he and she anymore, they weren't this and that, they were one…they were we. "We're…_I'm _going to help you get reenrolled into your school."

"I don't see the point in going back."

"Schools seem to be home to rumors, we…one of us…" he paused trying to think of a word or phrase that wouldn't correspond to the word we, "…either you or I might catch something that may prove to be a clue as the whereabouts and identity of Brenna's killer."

"You can't say we or us anymore?" Mercy asked catching right on to what he was doing.

Megatron wasn't quite sure what to say. Instead he stood and walked up to Mercy. He couldn't believe the urge, the _hunger_ he had to kiss her. The decepticon leader kept trying to tell himself to ignore it, but he couldn't. Oh how he wanted her, he wasn't exactly sure how he wanted her or why, but all he knew was that at some point he would have to have her…he just wasn't sure if she would accept him or not. He was such a tyrant. After all he had put her through and all the suffering she had gone through because of him, he didn't deserve her, he just wasn't _good_ enough.

He shook his head. The decepticon leader knew he had to stop thinking like this, he didn't want her, he didn't want her… but he did want her _so_ bad. Megatron just didn't know how to convince himself that Mercy wasn't what he needed or wanted. Blindly he cupped her cheek with his hand and gently stroked her face with his thumb.

Mercy felt a breath catch in her throat and Megatron noticed as her breathing was momentarily disrupted by his touch. Mercy wanted to touch him but she was afraid he wouldn't approve and he would beat her for it. Shakily she raised a hand to touch his, but he noticed and his free hand seized her wrist in a death grip. Her arm fell limp knowing her efforts had failed. Megatron dropped his hand from her cheek and said, "Enough of this repulsing behavior, we've got work to do."

"Right, I need fake papers."

"I'll take care of that," Megatron replied, "You just need to come up with a fake name."

"In order for me to reenroll into the school system I'm going to need a parent."

"Just for the signatures."

"No," Mercy retorted, "I have to meet with the superintendant…with a parent."

Megatron frowned and let a low growl escape his lips. This wasn't supposed to happen…just what was he supposed to do now? He wasn't a human and he definitely couldn't go outside since people would recognize his vehicle form. Megatron knew the autobots had developed some sort of holoform technology not long before he was murdered by Optimus Prime, but he didn't know how to use it. Perhaps he could figure something out with the dark energy. But he figured he would deal with that later. Right now he just needed to create those fake papers.

He sighed, "Just give me your name for now."

"Um…" she replied, "Jezebel was my mother's middle name…I guess I'll go with that."

"Last name?"

"Collins I suppose."

"Alright," Megatron responded and proceeded to use the dark energy to make a fake birth certificate, ID, social security card, and other various papers.

"You might need your own identification," Mercy stated, "Just incase."

"I need a human form first," he shot back.

"I think if you can use the dark energy to create fake papers for me that you can make a human form for yourself."

"It would require a lot of energy though."

Mercy sighed and went back over and sat on the couch. Megatron watched her for a minute before he sighed heavily himself and proceeded to summon a great deal of the dark energy he had collected. Mercy watched bedazzled as he was surrounded in a dark mist that hid his form completely. It was a few seconds before it finally faded away…where Megatron had been standing was now a human…a human with deep purple locks of rather long hair. He had locks in the front that fell just past his ears and in the back the locks went just below the shoulder. His eyes were pale blue, paler than any blue Mercy had ever seen. He had extremely broad shoulders and nice toned muscles…and his skin was so white. But Mercy swore she had never seen a man more handsome than the one standing in front of her at the moment. Her heart was threatening to either stop beating or just beat right out of her chest it was in such amazement.

"Wow Megatron," she gasped in a hoarse voice and then quickly cleared her throat; "You look amazing."

"Do I look old enough to be your father?" he asked ignoring her eyes as they wandered over his figure.

"You're close enough," she answered and then added with a slight blush on her face, "Perhaps you should wear a gold band on your left ring finger."

Megatron gave her a confused look, "Why?"

"So the girls won't be all over you."

"I …don't understand why that would keep them away."

"If you wear one it means you're married."

He gave her another confused look, "Married?"

Mercy's eyes widened, "You don't know what marriage is?"

"I'm not familiar with this human term."

"It's when a man and a woman make a commitment of love to the other. They exchange rings, usually a gold band to signify they are married." And she waited for him to snort at her and scoff at the idea of love or marriage…but what he said caught her completely off guard.

"That's rather similar to bonding…except bonding has two meanings for us." And he didn't explain the two meanings; instead he asked the android, "Is marriage necessary for a human?"

"No it's not. But most humans plan on getting married."

"What about you?"

Mercy was caught off guard, "What…about me?"

"Do you plan on getting married?"

She was quiet for a moment, "Yeah I had…I can't anymore though."

"Why…oh."

It was quite obvious…she wasn't human anymore and she couldn't be with an organic male. She wouldn't ever age yet the man would and people would become suspicious of her. Not to mention there was no way they could have a child if they wanted one. And Megatron couldn't figure out why he was delighted at the thought that no organic male could have her…

Finally Mercy broke the silence that was between them by saying, "Perhaps you should get an ID made and give the school a call, unless you want me to call the school."

"Does the phone work?"

"Good question…I'll go see."

Megatron watched her walk back downstairs to find a phone. Using the dark energy, the decepticon leader created his own identification, social security card, and other various papers. He then headed downstairs to see if Mercy had found a phone or not.

* * *

Mercy figured she'd look in the kitchen first since that seemed the most probably place in her mind for the phone to be. After searching around a bit she realized it wasn't there and instead ended up wandering through the house until she finally and luckily found a phone in one of the rooms off from a hallway. She picked it up and put it to her ear hoping to hear a tone but got nothing. Sighing she went to get Megatron and nearly jumped out of her metallic skin when she turned around and saw him standing right behind her. He smirked reading the startled look in her eyes and asked, "Is it dead?"

"Yeah," she answered and then thought, _"Gosh he'd look so good with his shirt off."_

Megatron shot her a look of disbelief and Mercy realized that she didn't have her telepathic link closed when she had thought that. Her cheeks flushed and she quickly turned her gaze to the floor. Megatron shook his head and used his dark energy to fix the phone and reconnect it to the phone line. When it was fixed, he picked it up and held it to his ear and mouth before asking, "What's the school's number?"

Mercy told him and he dialed it. When Megatron was connected, he put the phone on speaker phone so Mercy could hear. They both listened as a female voice said, "Superintendant's office, Caroline Rhodes speaking, how may I help you?"

"Uh, yes I would like to enroll my daughter into your school system. We just moved to this area," Megatron replied.

"May I have your name please?"

Megatron cast a look to Mercy who quickly passed a name through the telepathic link. She said, _"Thor Collins."_

"Thor Collins."

"And your daughter's name?"

"Jezebel Collins."

"Alright, you called on a good day. I can set up an appointment with you and Mr. Clarkson, the superintendant, this afternoon. Is that alright with you?"

"That's fine."

"Okay then, you will need her birth certificate, photo ID, social security card, as well as her previous school record. Mr. Collins you'll need photo ID and your social security card."

"Alright."

"Okay, the appointment has been scheduled for 12:30 this afternoon. Just come down to the district office, it's located in a red brick building next to the school. See you then."

And the line went dead. Megatron put down the receiver and Mercy looked at him asking, "Just what are we going to do about my school record?"

"I need a computer."

"Um…there's some at the public library that you can use."

"I don't want to risk being caught though. Where else can I get access to a computer?"

"The school."

"Hmmm…are you sure there's no where's else?"

"Not that I can think of. Megatron, don't forget you can go invisible."

Megatron smirked, "Ah yes, I can do that can't I? Would you like to come with me to the school then?"

"Now?"

"Yes now, you'll need your disguise though."

"I don't want to risk getting caught."

"Alright, I'll be back then," he responded and opened a dimension gate before disappearing through it.

Mercy sighed knowing that she had to put on her fake self so that she wouldn't be recognized when she went down to the school to meet with Mr. Clarkson. She wasn't sure how good of an actress she was or if she would be able to pull this off, but she knew she had to or else she would have to go back to prison and her secret of being an android could risk being revealed. Sighing she got an outfit together, as well as her wig, and headed to the bathroom where she changed into her false self.

* * *

Megatron was relieved when he got to the computer lab at the school in his invisible state only to find it empty. He went inside and quickly sat down at one of the computers…however he couldn't log on unless he was registered to.

"_**Mercy what's your username for this slagging piece of junk?"**_

"_It's mlecroix, all in lowercase letters."_

"_**Okay and your password?"**_

She sighed before replying, _"Rosary."_

"_**R-o-s-a-r-y?" **_he responded spelling it out.

"_Yes."_

"_**I don't see the significance of that password,"**_he said as he logged onto the computer in Mercy's name.

"_It's my middle name."_

"_**Oh. Interesting name."**_

"_I guess. Make sure you log me out when you're done."_

"_**I will, now I'll talk to you when I get back."**_

"_Alright."_

When Megatron was logged onto the computer, he quickly accessed the school's website and immediately hacked into the cite. To him it was like stealing candy from a baby as he quickly gained access to the records of the students at the school. He found Mercy's record and was surprised that the school hadn't deleted it. Nonetheless, he copied the record onto a different program where he changed the name to Jezebel Collins and changed a few of the grades as well and comments that had been written on it. He then printed it off and logged off the computer before opening a dimension gate and going through it with the record.

Megatron was surprised when he got back to the house he and Mercy were hiding in to find Mercy wearing her disguise. She had on her blonde wig, a white miniskirt, a tight, low cut, light blue shirt, with black glasses, and flip flops that matched her shirt. It was late April, so the outfit was appropriate.

The decepticon leader looked her over before saying, "Well, you look very different."

"Do I look like Mercy?"

"Hardly…it's just your voice."

"Well then…" she cleared her throat before saying in a bit higher pitched voice, "Do I _sound_ like Mercy?"

Megatron smirked, "No, not anymore."

"Good, did you get the record?"

"Yes I did, and I logged you out on the computer so don't worry about that."

"I'm not, I trust you."

"_Well you shouldn't,"_ Megatron thought making sure the telepathic link was closed. He checked the time on his internal clock and saw it was a little after twelve fifteen, "Come on _Jezebel_, we need to get going."

"Right away, _dad_. How are we going to get there though?"

"Dimension gate, I'll just make sure it opens where no one will see it."

"Alright."

Megatron proceeded to open a dimension gate again and both he and Mercy went through it, her as a prep and him as a decently dressed human. When they stepped through the dimension gate, they ended up just outside the district office, but in an area where there were no windows or places where people could see the dimension gate. Megatron held the papers in his hand and looked to Mercy, "You know I forgot to ask why you suggested Thor as my fake name…wait…is it your dad's middle name?"

"Actually it was a name written on the phone."

"Oh," he simply replied and opened the door to the district office and allowed Mercy inside before he went in himself.

A receptionist, also the lady that had answered the phone, Caroline Rhodes, greeted Mercy and Megatron at the door and said, "Hi, you must be Mr. Collins and you Jezebel." She seemed a little taken aback by the color of Megatron's hair, but she didn't say anything.

"That's us," Mercy replied disguising her voice.

"Alright then, follow me; Mr. Clarkson is ready to take you now."

Mercy and Megatron followed the lady into Mr. Clarkson's office and Caroline left after they had taken their seats at a small table with the superintendent.

After a brief introduction, Mr. Clarkson asked as he signed a paper, "So Jezebel, how long have you guys been in this area?"

"A few days now. My dad's in the military, he was just transferred to Fort Drum."

"I see, do you have a wife Mr. Collins?"

Mercy noticed a gold band around Megatron's left ring finger, "Yes, she's still back in Fort Knox taking care of a few things."

"_I'm impressed, how'd you know about Fort Knox?"_

"_**It's called the internet."**_

"_Oh."_

Mr. Clarkson nodded and signed a couple more papers before turning to Mercy and saying, "Well Jezebel, you're all set. You'll be starting school tomorrow. How would you like a tour of the high school now?"

"That sounds good," Mercy replied and glanced at Megatron.

"I don't see why not," he remarked wishing this would end soon.

Mr. Clarkson proceeded to take them over to the high school where he used a good hour of his time and wasted an hour of Mercy and Megatron's time to show them around the high school. When the tour was over, Mr. Clarkson bade them goodbye and went back to his office. Megatron and Mercy were headed out of the school, but when they rounded a corner, Mercy crashed into another man who was going around the corner as well and both stumbled back a bit while the decepticon leader fought back the urge to laugh.

"Oh, sorry about that," the man exclaimed as he looked Mercy over.

Mercy felt her systems freeze, she hard heard that voice before, "Its okay, this school has annoying corners."

"I haven't seen you around before, you must be new here."

"I just transferred here, I start tomorrow."

"What grade?"

"Eleventh."

The man smiled, "I'll see you in history class then tomorrow. I'm student teaching for Mr. Khan."

"Oh, well, I'll see you then," Mercy replied, her eyes glancing over his nametag.

Megatron and Mercy parted with the student teacher and headed out the door where the decepticon leader opened a dimension gate and disappeared through it with Mercy. When they got back to the house, Megatron said he was going to fix it up using his dark energy and Mercy declared that she was immediately changing out of the clothes she was wearing. She went to the bathroom while Megatron turned back into his robot form and used the dark energy to fix up the house. He realized that he had enough energy, especially since he and Mercy were getting along and the dark energy was coming in a plentiful supply. The decepticon leader figured he could keep up this "niceness" until he was alive again…then he was going home and he didn't care what happened to Mercy…but deep down inside he did care and he knew it was going to hurt him just as much as it was going to hurt her when he left.

* * *

Mercy sighed as she changed back into her normal clothes. She really wasn't looking forward to going back to school the next day, her few days of vacation had been nice and it aggravated her to have to give them up now. Thinking back to the student teacher, she knew she had heard his voice somewhere else before but she couldn't place it. Mercy shrugged it off as well as his name.

_Mr. T. Chase._

* * *

Well...if you don't get the cliffie...reread a certain chapter of this story. The murder chapter. Now that I've fully succeeded in giving the cliffie away, I'm going to bed and will hope to wake up to find an inbox with a few reviews in it...so...please review!


	19. You're All Alone

As much fun as doing my French homework sounds, I'd much rather update this. So here you go, a brand-spanking-new chapter hot off the press...in a matter of speaking. But I couldn't decide where to end this chapter, I almost made it really long, but I decided it was long enough. So, enjoy! And before I forget, thanks to all of you who have been reviewing, because this story doesn't get a lot of reviews and I appreciate it when you special people take time to review. Now you can enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen: You're All Alone**

Mercy woke up the next morning like she hard in mornings past to get ready for school. It felt harder this morning as she tugged on another skirt and tight top with annoying flip flops and her wig. Lastly she put her glasses on, hating those the most. She had never worn glasses before, she just couldn't stand them on her face, besides that, she really didn't need them, and she hadn't wanted to grow dependent on them. When she was told by the nurse at the health clinic that she needed to see the doctor about her vision, she had simply ignored what the nurse had said. Now here she was wearing glasses…much to her disappointment and discomfort.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Mercy straightened her wig up a bit before sighing. Whoever was staring back at her in the mirror was a stranger, someone she had never seen before and didn't recognize at all. This person was not who she was. She could rip all the disguises she was wearing off and still look in the mirror and see Jezebel staring back. Jezebel was going to school, not Mercy. And it wasn't fair. Jezebel was going to be the one to solve the murder…not Mercy.

She saw Megatron looking at her in the mirror suddenly and she watched in the mirror as he asked with a smirk on his face, "Nervous?"

"Not really," Mercy replied and had to mentally shake her head as she saw a vision of Megatron holding her closely in the mirror. She knew she had to get rid of these thoughts sooner or later.

All he was going to do was leave her behind one of these days. Chances were that one morning she'd probably wake up only to find Megatron missing…she figured he'd probably leave without warning, without giving her the chance to say goodbye.

"_As if I'd say goodbye,"_ Mercy scoffed in her mind after making sure the telepathic link was closed, _"I shouldn't after all he's put me through…yet…he's changed so much and done so much for me…I just don't know what I'd do without him."_

"Mercy?"

She turned around and faced him, curiosity planted in her eyes as she looked into his optics. "What is it?" she asked.

"Are you ready to go?"

No hug. No kind words. Nothing to bring back any of the moments they had shared while they were on the run. _"If he were to say goodbye it'd kill me, and I think he knows that. And he promised not to kill me…he promised me my life, so he can't leave. But yet, he might not know…and if he goes he'll kill me by mistake."_

"Mercy, just why are you so slow to reply? Is something wrong?"

"N-No, I'm fine. Let's just go," she murmured and went and grabbed a backpack that Megatron had stolen, along with a few folders, notebooks, and some paper.

"And just how do you propose we go?" Megatron questioned crossing his arms, "You can't walk. People might associate you with…well…Mercy."

"Associate all they want…I've no other means of getting to school."

Megatron shrugged and followed Mercy over to the door. Mercy reached for the doorknob when suddenly the door hissed open. The android stared at the decepticon leader amazed; she had never seen anything like that before. He chuckled, "I guess when I told you I was going to fix up the house I left out the detail that I was modernizing it."

"Modernizing in your terms at least…modernizing in my terms is getting cable and a big screen TV, not automatic sliding doors. Is that all you did to 'modernize' this place?"

"No. There are other things."

"Like what?"

"Security cameras."

Mercy looked at him like he had gone completely insane and she asked as she walked out the door, "Just what the hell do you have those for?"

"Just incase something should happen, you never know."

After what had happened to them already, it was definitely for the best. That way if someone were to break in or anything similar to that, they could prove Mercy was the innocent one this time…well, Jezebel at least. Who knew if there was still any chance of proving Mercy's innocence? And who knew if coming back to this town in which she lived would prove anything. Just what were the chances of them finding any sort of clues? Just what were the chances of them being able to find Brenna's killer? There was a grim truth that both Mercy and Megatron knew, and that was there wasn't a chance, and if there was one, it was one in a million…if they were lucky.

Megatron went invisible as he went through the door and followed Mercy down the road…the same old routine it had been prior to them abruptly leaving. The only differences now were Mercy was no longer Mercy, just some disguised person whom she didn't even recognize and didn't want to recognize. And normally it had been a 15 minute walk, but now it was a 20 minute one.

Mercy couldn't help but cast a glance over to her real home as she walked by. It just absolutely tore at her heart to see the place where she had lived her entire life be taped off and abandoned while the police destroyed the place combing through it to find any sort of evidence against her. 

Heart wrenching as it was, there was nothing that she could do to change the situation, and she merely kept walking until her house was in the distance and she could no longer see it, and the school doors were before her.

Reluctantly, the girl opened a door and went inside and to the main office so that the principal could show her where her locker was and her homeroom. The familiar office secretary had her sit and wait until the principal came out. He greeted her when he finally did come out, and then instructed her to follow him. He led her up a familiar flight of stairs and to her normal homeroom, the homeroom she had been in before she ran away. After a brief introduction to the teacher, the principal took her to her locker…her old locker.

He elucidated, "This was Mercy LeCroix's old locker, I'm sure you've seen the news and are aware of her."

Mercy shook her head trying not to smile.

"The police have already checked it for any sort of clues to Brenna's murder but didn't find anything. Since it's the only available locker we have, it's now yours for the remainder of the year."

"A locker's just a locker, and I'm sure this one is just as good as the rest," Mercy replied in her disguised voice.

He nodded and smiled before wishing her a good day and walking off. Mercy shook her head and using the combination code that the principal had given her, she opened her locker and placed her things inside and took out what she needed. When she closed her locker she nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw none other than Brittany standing there.

"_**Not her again…"**_

"_My thoughts exactly."_

Brittany looked her up and down before smiling sweetly, "You must be the new girl."

"_I wonder how long it took her to figure that out,"_ Mercy thought and heard Megatron chuckle through the telepathic link, "Yes, you are?"

"Brittany Smith, but you can call me Brit. What about you?"

"I'm Jezebel Collins."

Brittany nodded approvingly, "Aw, you're so cute. Come and hang with me and my friends."

"_My friends and me," _Mercy thought bitterly at Brittany's lack of grammar skills.

"_**Who is she to be calling you cute? Lesbian…"**_

"_Pft…I wouldn't be surprised."_

After spending nearly all of homeroom chatting with her new "friends" and memorizing her schedule, Mercy went to her first class of the day. It was math now. Dumb old math.

And that's how the rest of the day went, dumb and old and boring. She sat with Brittany at lunch, because unfortunately she was blessed with having the same lunch period as her. Though Mercy didn't eat anything, and luckily no one made the connection to how Mercy didn't eat anything either. In fact, Mercy LeCroix was not discussed at all in the school. It was like Mercy had never ever been there, that she had died along with Brenna…and it really hurt to find out that nobody had cared. It hurt even more to refer to herself as a dead person, especially when she _was_ there and nobody recognized her. She wanted to rip off the disguise and show everyone who she really was, but she'd only jeopardize herself in the end.

"So just what was that Mercy LeCroix character like anyway?" Mercy found herself asking.

"A total lowlife and snob," Brittany replied with a disgusted look on her face, "I'm glad she's not here and out living the worst of all possible lives right now."

Mercy felt rage boil through her circuits and was just about to get up to punch her or something until she felt hands on her shoulders restraining her and a gentle yet empowering voice say, _**"Just leave it be Mercy."**_

"_She doesn't understand though!"_

"_**She doesn't need to understand, she doesn't matter Mercy."**_

"_She just can't go saying things like that though, especially about me."_

"_**Calm down Mercy."**_

"_Calm down? How do you expect me to calm down?"_

He began rubbing her shoulders gently, but he didn't say anything. The massage felt so good that Mercy couldn't help but to let her anger go for now. And finally she replied to Brittany, "Just as long as she doesn't come back."

Brittany nodded and flipped a lock of hair out of her face, "So Jezebel, who's your boyfriend?"

"Boyfriend? I don't have one."

The prep girl appeared to be shocked, "Don't have one?! Well, that won't do. We'll find you one before the day is out."

Mercy shook her head, "I really don't need one Brit."

Brittany chuckled, "That's what the new girls _always_ say. That is until I find them someone and they are always happy together."

Mercy shook her head, "I insist, I don't want one."

"Then you must already have one."

"_**Oh for the love of Primus, just tell her you have one so she'll shut the hell up already."**_

"_What happens if she asks who it is?"_

"_**Be creative."**_

"_Thanks…"_

"Well Brit, before I moved up here I was seeing somebody down in Kentucky and we're still in touch."

"Long distance relationships don't work. I know."

And suddenly somebody came up from the back of the cafeteria and walked over to Brittany. Mercy recognized him as Andrew Povis, Brittany's longtime boyfriend. He gave her a kiss before saying, "Hey babe, what's up?"

"_**Ugh, disgusting."**_

"Nothing much Andy, just talking to my new best friend, her name is Jezebel."

"_**Best friend my aft."**_

"Hey Jez," he said winking at her.

"Hey," she replied trying to sound as enthusiastic as she could.

"I'm trying to hook her up with somebody," Brittany explained, "You know anyone?"

"Hmm…" he mused, "Jez, you're straight right?"

She shot him a glare and he chuckled, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. You know there is Lance."

Brittany snapped her fingers together, "Of course! Why didn't I think of that?"

"_Because you're a slagging retard."_

"_**Couldn't have said it better myself."**_

"Do you know who Lance is?" Brittany asked Mercy.

"No."

"He's got red hair, brown eyes, beautiful teeth; he's tall, and running back of the football team. He's hot, plain and simple, and you two will do marvelous together. Andrew honey, could you talk to him about Jezebel?"

"Alright, but you owe me."

"Oh? How so?" Brittany asked pretending to play dumb.

"Well, my parents aren't going to be home tonight."

She giggled. Mercy felt sick.

"_**Kids these days…sex is everything apparently. Stay away from this Lance freak."**_

"_I plan to…you know what sex is?"_

"_**Of course I do…there's nothing like it."**_

"_Get your hands off me please."_

She heard Megatron chuckle before replying, _**"Don't worry Mercy, I haven't had it for a long time now."**_

"_End of discussion pronto."_

Megatron didn't say anything and Mercy felt relieved when she heard the bell ring. She breezed through the next few periods, until she came to her last class of the day, history. The last thing she wanted to do was learn about what already happened. But it was a graduation requirement, no matter how unchallenging and boring the course was. Inside the class, Mr. Kahn instructed her to take a seat in front of his desk…the desk where the student teacher happened to be seated.

Mercy couldn't figure out why, but she got a bad vibe from him. She couldn't trust him, and when he smiled up at her as she sat down, she felt sickeningly uncomfortable. It was all she could do to smile back at him as she tried to focus her attention on Mr. Kahn's lecture. About 15 minutes into the class period, Mr. Kahn turned and began writing something on the blackboard. Mercy caught movement out of the corner of her eye and looked down and saw a note on her desk.

_Do you need a ride home from school? I can give you one. –Mr. Chase_

Mercy glanced up at the board and then looked back down at the note before scrawling something out and passing it back to Mr. Chase.

_It would be appreciated._

She ignored him, but couldn't zone him out as she heard him scribble something out and pass it back. She glanced back down at the note after Mr. Kahn called on someone to answer a question.

_Alright, just stop by here when you get everything you need from your locker._

With a bored look on her face, Mercy waited until Mr. Kahn was preoccupied again before she wrote another message and passed it back.

_Just why do you want to give me a ride anyway?_

She missed him smile darkly.

_Just so I can get to know you a little better. I know it sounds odd, a student/teacher relationship, but that's not what I have in mind, at all. You just remind me of someone I met not too long ago._

_No offense…but you're retarded._

_LOL, I guess I am._

The bell rang suddenly startling Mercy. She regained her composure though and gathered her stuff before exiting the room. She headed to her locker to drop her things off and get the books she needed to do her homework.

"_**Just what did that damned teacher want?"**_

"_He…he was just apologizing again for crashing into me like he did. Hey Megatron, I'm going to stay after school to do some work in the library. You can stay if you want."_

"…_**As much fun as it sounds watching you do homework, I'll pass. I'll be back at the house."**_

Mercy was stunned, _"You sure?"_

"_**One-hundred percent, just stay out of trouble, and stay away from that slagging teacher. I don't trust him."**_

"_Alright."_

She didn't get a response, and she knew Megatron was on his way out of the building. She sighed, knowing that she had lied to him once again, but she knew this was something she had to do. Mercy couldn't trust that teacher either, and the fact he was new didn't settle well with her thoughts either. Perhaps luck had struck and she had found the killer, but yet…it was probably bad luck that she had, if she had any. Chances were still one in a billion that Mr. Chase was a murderer, Brenna's murderer. He just didn't seem the type. He was so friendly, so nice…unless it was all a disguise. A fake mask, just like Jezebel Collins…Jezebel the nonexistent…but Mr. Chase was existent, existent in flesh and blood.

When she had her things, Mercy returned to Mr. Kahn's room only to find Mr. Chase waiting for her outside the door. She smiled at him, a fake smile, just like everything else that was on her right now.

"Well Jezebel, are you ready to go?"

She nodded, "You bet."

They walked out of the school building and to his car, small talk exchanged along the way. Once inside and settled in, Mr. Chase asked, "So, how far away do you live?"

"Driving, about 2 minutes."

"Then I'll show you around town a little bit. Your parents aren't expecting you home at a certain time are they?"

"No."

"Awesome." And he started up his car and drove out of the school parking lot. He headed downtown, showing her where the best stores were and restaurants, things Mercy all knew. After a while he asked, "So Jezebel, how old are you?"

"Sixteen."

"You got your license yet?"

She chuckled, "No, but I wish."

"What about your permit?"

"Nope. Haven't had the chance to get it."

"Bummer."

"I'll say."

"You want to see Mercy LeCroix's house?"

"I live next to it, almost. I've seen it a couple times already."

He nodded his head, "It's a shame what she did to Brenna. Brenna was such a pretty young girl, it's so sad her life ended so short."

Mercy stole a skeptical glance at him before looking back out the windshield, "Yeah, it's really tragic."

"Don't take this the wrong way or anything, but that Mercy girl is pretty cute herself. This school is full of pretty girls, but none really compare to Mercy."

Mercy laughed nervously, "Um, how old are you?"

He chuckled, "Yeah, I probably shouldn't be saying things like that. Can't blame a guy though. But yeah, I'm 23. I'm here on an internship for college."

Mercy felt lightheaded as she remembered how Brenna had been the same age as her, and her stalker was seven years older than her…just like Mr. Chase. "Are you majoring in childhood education?"

"That's my goal. So far it's going just fine."

"That's good."

He made a sharp turn onto her road…and the glove box fell open. A black ski mask landed on Mercy's lap…along with black handgun. Mr. Chase noticed and sighed heavily, "It looks like my college buddies decided to play a prank on me yet again. Just put that stuff back in there, I'll take care of it later."

It was all Mercy could do to keep her hands from shaking as she carefully gripped the ski mask around the gun so she wouldn't leave any fingerprints and placed the items back inside the glove box before closing it. She closed her eyes briefly and remembered the gun from the night from the murder…that had been the exact same one…

"You okay Jezebel?"

She snapped her eyes open, "Oh yeah, just tired. Nothing like the first day of school to wear a person out."

Mr. Chase nodded in agreement, "Which house is yours?"

"I'll let you know when we get close," she replied and then found herself asking, "What's your first name?"

"Travis."

Mercy nodded numbly, "That's my house right there."

Travis Chase pulled into the driveway of the home and Mercy gathered her stuff and exited the car, but before she shut the door she said, "Thanks for the ride."

"Anytime Mer—Jezebel."

She smiled weakly and shut the door before walking briskly into the house. Once inside she locked the door and leaned against it until she heard his car head off down the road. Megatron appeared a lot quicker than she wanted him to. He crossed his arms before her, his robotic body towering over hers.

"Don't tell me you're starting your tactics of disobeying me all over again."

She whimpered hoarsely unaware of why her voice suddenly betrayed her when she needed it the most, "N-No you d-don't understand."

His expression dropped, "What happened?"

Mercy blinked back the tears, "He's—he's the guy."

"I don't understand what you—

"He's the guy who killed Brenna!"

Megatron felt shock pierce him, "Are…are you sure?"

"The damn gun he used to kill Brenna fell out of his glove box and onto my lap when he turned onto this road…along with the ski mask he wore to hide his face."

"That doesn't mean it was the same gun."

"I know what the slagging gun looked like Megatron; I was standing right there when he fired it into Brenna's abdomen!"

"Calm down Mercy."

"_He's still after me,_" she breathed, hugging herself.

Reluctantly, Megatron came up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist before pulling her against him. He removed her wig and let the lavender locks of hair pool down. "He's not going to get you," he stated calmly, gently, "I won't allow it. And he doesn't know who you really are."

"He started to call me Mercy as I stepped out of the car, but he quickly corrected himself."

"…Damn. Why in the name of Primus do you put yourself into these situations?"

"I didn't do it on purpose…I just went with him on a hunch."

"Well look where hunches get you. Now, promise me Mercy, that you will not, under any circumstances, leave this house unless I am with you."

"I promise."

"Good, now I'm going to go back to your real home for a few minutes to see if I can obtain anything that we can use. You should be alright. I won't be gone that long."

"If you must."

"I must. Just change out of those slagging clothes while I'm gone."

She smiled, "Don't worry; I have every intention of doing so. When this murder is taken care of, I'm burning these damn garments."

"Suit yourself, I'm leaving. Don't go anywhere."

"I won't."

And she watched him disappear through a dimension gate. Sighing, she went into the bathroom where she changed into a comfortable pair of jeans and a baggy t-shirt. She hated those prep clothes, she was so grateful to get them off. After taking care of her clothes, she headed out into the living room, but stopped short and had no control as a gasp of horror escaped her throat.

There stood Travis Chase, gun pointed at her abdomen this time. He chuckled darkly while Mercy fought off the urge to vomit.

"Tell me what it's like, Mercy, when you know you're all _alone_."

* * *

That my friends, would be called a sucker-punch cliffhanger, if I don't say so myself. I'm gonna say this story will be done in about...oh I don't know, roughly eight chapters. But I'm having sooooooo much fun doing this XD

Reviews please! Don't skip out on me now...


	20. In Case of an Emergency

Yes, I updated this story again. I'm trying to get to the...ah I can't say. Fine, the ultimate fluffiness...XD You know summer vacation starts two weeks from today, so just bear with me. I'm going to be busy everyday until then. Exams galore...whoo hoo.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty: In Case of an Emergency**

Megatron stepped through the dimension gate only to end up in the living room of Mercy's home. He spotted immediately areas that the police had combed through trying to find evidence against Mercy. He knew they couldn't find any, only because there wasn't any to be found. The decepticon leader was completely convinced that the student teacher had killed Brenna Meyers. Mercy's hostility towards him, along with her reaction to him had convinced him that _he_ had done something to terrify her…and it only made sense. He just couldn't believe they had found the killer already, on only their first day back to the town. It was astonishing, but perhaps some other, more powerful force, had control of their destinies at the moment.

The decepticon leader sighed as he cast his optics off the memories of that living room and headed down to the bedroom, Mercy's bedroom that was. When he arrived inside, he saw the police had left it just the way it had been when he and Mercy had ran away. He sighed and looked things over before going over and sitting on the sofa and staring longingly at the bed.

"_**F—k it, who am I trying to kid?"**_ thought the decepticon leader after closing his telepathic link.

He hadn't come here to look for anything that may be useful, hell there wasn't anything and he knew that. He only came because he could, just for the sake of it. But what was the sake of it? Megatron hated to admit it, but he came there to dwell on the past. He missed it…and he hated how the thought of leaving here tore at his spark. He didn't want to leave…why would he want to return to a damned war that he could never seem to win? Why would he want to return to a war that may just end up killing him all over again? And why would he want to leave behind someone he had grown attached to?

Megatron was beginning to understand things more clearly now. He knew that there was _something_ between he and Mercy, something far more powerful than hate, yet the last thing it could be was hate. He sighed heavily. Nothing was supposed to grow between he and Mercy…nothing ever was supposed to exist between them other than the transfer of energy and hate. The decepticon leader felt torn and empty inside. Yet his spark swelled and pulsed whenever he thought of Mercy.

He probably shouldn't have left her alone back at the house. She was still frightened from what had happened between her and Mr. Chase before he had left. Sighing, he figured he should head back, but he wasn't sure what the rush was. Deep inside he felt an anxious dread gnawing at his spark mercilessly, and it severely irked him. She was perfectly fine back where she was though, even though she was all _alone_.

After a few brief minutes, Megatron decided that it wasn't fair that he left Mercy defenseless when she was frightened. Sure the house had been drastically modernized, but not enough to defend her incase something did happen. But why was he thinking this? Why was he worried if anything had happened or not to her? Sure he still needed to collect energy from her, he still needed quite a bit, but he was _almost_ close to the point of living again. So close that he could taste life, he could smell it, hear it, see it, and feel it coming back…his life coming back. Oh, he couldn't wait to leave death and all it's bitterness behind…but yet he was willing to cast Mercy aside. To cast _his_ Mercy aside. To throw her away like his life had been taken, but he didn't want to let her go, he only believed he needed to.

Sighing, Megatron was just about to stand up from the couch when a piece of paper sticking out from under Mercy's bed caught his optic. Slowly, as if in a black and white dream, he got up and retrieved the paper before sitting back down on the sofa and reading it.

* * *

The horrid realization of knowing that nobody was there to save her…the horrid realization of knowing that she might actually be hurt or killed…the horrid realization that she was _alone_…that she could not defend herself…that her assailant was standing before her and she was completely and utterly _helpless_.

"Did you really think I had forgotten about you Mercy?"

She took a fearful step back from him but he only flashed his gun threateningly at her and she froze where she was. She could barely make out the words as she whispered harshly, "N-No. I don't understand w-why y-you're here."

"I _want_ you Mercy. I _must_ have you," and he took a couple steps towards her, "Killing Brenna was worth it because I found you in the end. You were my scapegoat. While the cops chased you, I merely lived as if nothing had happened. And I thank you so much Mercy, for taking the blame."

"B-But I didn't…I—

"Shut up!" He grinned as Mercy immediately fell silent, "Good girl, now, we're leaving before your parents get home. And don't give me any crap either or I'll shoot you. And you know what I'm talking about, that thing you can do with your hands…pull that I pull the trigger. Got it?"

She slowly nodded her head, though not accepting mentally what he was telling her.

"Come here Mercy."

She couldn't make herself move. Mercy tried to send the signals from her CPU to her feet to make her move, but her feet refused to respond. Instead, she noticed, that she had begun shaking. Uncontrollably, but not violently. She was scared to death…she was alone…and she was helpless as Travis Chase groaned impatiently and sauntered over to her.

A cold and rough hand gruffly cupped her cheek and tilted her face up to his, "You will learn to listen to me. You are mine…"

Oh she was so mad she wanted to kill him. She wasn't about to accept his words, yet she was too afraid not to listen. The last thing she wanted was to be his. He was the murderer of her best and only friend, he had taken away life and didn't care, and he had completely ruined hers. Mercy had already done enough for him, she had suffered for his crime, she had paid for his crime, she had sacrificed so much for him, and here she was standing as his victim…his prey.

It was amazing how quickly courage and bravery could be rendered completely useless by fear. She wanted to rewrite the story of her life, because this was not how it was supposed to go. Mercy longed to do something for a change, so that this curse of bad luck that had been cast upon her could be broken, something that would unlock her from the shackles of life, the shackles of herself. But there was absolutely nothing she could do. The gun was thrust in her face now and the only choice she had was do or die.

She closed her telepathic link, _"Be the hero for once Mercy…be the change…because you're the only one that believes in you, and you have the strength. You're made of metal, he of flesh and bone and blood. You're stronger than him, now be strong!"_

"Travis…" she breathed.

He smirked at her, "What is it?"

She summoned her small supply of courage as she cast the wickedest glare at him before hissing, "The last thing I am is yours."

He scowled and smashed the gun against her left temple producing a sound of almost metal clashing on metal. Mercy felt pain sear through her skull and her vision darkened and blurred as unconsciousness began to consume her. She needed help…just what would happen when Megatron got back her and couldn't find her?

"_Megatron...help…"_ Mercy fell prisoner to darkness.

* * *

It was a poem, Megatron could quite clearly tell that. He hadn't really been into poetry at any time of his long life, but this poem awed and stunned him. It surprised him since he didn't know Mercy was capable of writing something of this nature…well he knew she was certainly capable, it just surprised him that she actually would. And it was probably most certain that the police had read the poem and merely tossed it aside, causing it to land under her bed, to be forever forgotten. But, not anymore. Megatron tucked the poem of the fallen angel safely inside his subspace pocket.

He nervously knotted and unknotted his hands, unable to decide if he should leave Mercy behind or not. If he took her along with him, he'd never be able to get her to come back to live on earth because he knew she would get along just fine among the transformers species, any human seemed to, well, with the autobots at least. No human had ever had the experience of actually getting to know the decepticon faction, just Mercy, even though she wasn't human anymore. But if he took her with him, there was always the possibility that she would become bored, or that he would become bored with her. If that happened, he could always do away with her and forget about the promise he had made not to take her life, or just banish her and never worry about her again.

Though, if he never brought her along, he wouldn't have to worry about her growing bored. When the murder was solved, Mercy would be just fine. She could go on living as she had been, she might have to serve a minor jail time for the felonies she had committed, but at least she wouldn't have murder on her head. And he was confident that the girl could become an accepted part of society. She only had to learn. She was better off if he just left her alone, he had already done enough to screw up her life; there was no reason why he had to do more damage. And it was better for both of them. They would both learn to get along without the other. All the feelings they had developed would fade away with time…because time was the cure to everything.

They just had to find a way to live through the hurt.

"_Megatron…help…"_

"_**Mercy? What's going on?"**_

He waited for her to respond, but she didn't…and he knew something was wrong. He racked his mind trying to detect any sort of trace from her telepathic link to him, and he found absolutely nothing. Wherever she was, she was unconscious. Oh, he hoped it was nothing serious. Perhaps she had just fallen down the stairs or something and hit her head. Perhaps she had fainted for some odd reason. He was probably overreacting to whatever it was. But no matter what he told himself as to what the probable cause for Mercy's unconsciousness could be, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was _terribly _wrong.

And without further delay, Megatron opened a dimension gate and stepped through it. When he got back to the house, he quickly observed that nothing was out of place. Everything was right where it had been when he left. He walked through the living room of the home…no signs of a struggle; the kitchen was perfectly in order. Mercy's backpack was resting right next to the door, and her shoes lay aimlessly on the floor next to her backpack. The bathroom was empty and provided no clues; the office was as barren as it had been. The downstairs bedrooms were the same story. Slowly Megatron climbed the stairs to look around upstairs. He half expected to find Mercy lying lifeless on the floor somewhere, but he knew that he would be back in the void if she was truly lifeless, but he didn't find her anywhere.

"_**Damn it Mercy, where are you?"**_

Still nothing. He went back downstairs and sat down, completely frustrated, in a chair in the living room. If she had runaway on him again, she was as good as dead. After a few minutes of dwelling in his frustration, Megatron had a sudden realization.

There were surveillance cameras.

* * *

Darkness…that was all she saw after the dizziness and blurriness cleared from her vision. Mercy had absolutely no idea where she was, but wherever she was it was loud and uncomfortable, and it reeked of gasoline. She was lying down, and she knew a blanket or something was covering her. She had been tied and gagged and couldn't move no matter how hard she tried to. And every now and then there would be a bump or something that would shake her…that could only mean one thing. She was moving…and as her CPU slowly began to process her environment, she realized she must have been in the trunk of a car…most likely the trunk of Travis Chase's car.

Her mind was still groggy as she tried to collect her thoughts. After a few moments it occurred to her that she was frightened, in fact, she had been shaking without realizing that she had been trembling. She had been kidnapped, and she needed to contact Megatron, just so she could make him aware…but her head was throbbing. Pain was pulsing through her skull as if it were her own blood. She knew she had to hurry because unconsciousness hadn't released her from its grip quite yet.

"_Megatron…"_

* * *

Megatron went inside the office, he had turned it into the surveillance room since it was out of the way and the room really had no other purpose. Megatron took a seat at the control area of the cameras. He sat in front of a computer with a rather large screen and began typing on it. After a few minutes, he had all the footage playing from each camera in small divided screens on the computer. His optics glanced over each one. He glanced at the lower right and observed something that shocked his inner core, the student teacher walking in through the front door without bothering to ask for permission to come in. He observed as Mercy later walked into the living room and watched as the next series of events unfolded between them as if it had been a movie. Except, at the end, Megatron slammed his fist against the desk the computer was on and cursed harshly under his breath.

His Mercy was gone, ripped away from him, all because he had been stupid enough to leave her behind when she needed him the most. This was his entire fault, and he felt so terrible…though he hated himself for feeling terrible. He wasn't supposed to feel anything but hate, pain, conquest, thrill, and anger. But what the hell did it matter anymore? What was the use of denying it when _knew_ that he had feelings for Mercy? He didn't need to lie to himself anymore.

Megatron was so afraid of accepting the truth, he wasn't supposed to love. He wasn't supposed to feel that cursed emotion, but somehow he was, and he couldn't make it go away. It was something he wanted to destroy but he couldn't because it felt so good. But yet it felt as bad as it did good and he couldn't figure out why. He needed Mercy, as much as he hated to admit it, but he had to have her, and that's why he didn't want to leave her behind.

Shaking his head, he knew he had to find her before that damned human harmed _his_ Mercy. Megatron definitely claimed her as his now, and when he got her back, he knew he had to tell her how he felt; because she deserved to know the truth too…he had to show her.

"_Megatron…"_

"_**Damn it Mercy! It's about time, where in the pit are you? Are you injured?"**_

"_Travis has me…in the trunk of his car at the moment I'm guessing. I can't tell for sure."_

"_**Where's he taking you?"**_

"_Probably to his home…Megatron I…I'm…"_ she trailed off.

"_**What is it Mercy?"**_ he prodded ever so gently.

"_I'm…I'm so scared."_

He sighed knowing she had every right to be. He could hear the tears in her voice and he replied in a friendly and reassuring tone, _**"I'm coming for you Mercy. Just hold on a little longer."**_

"_I'll…I'll try."_

"_**You sound like you're in pain. Is it from where he hit you with the gun?"**_

"_You…you know about that?"_

"_**Surveillance cameras, remember?"**_

"_Oh yeah…but to answer you question, yes it hurts."_

"_**He'll pay for hurting you. Now, I'll be there as soon as I can, just do as that damned idiot says for now so that he doesn't hurt you anymore."**_

"_But I don't want—_

"_**I know, that's why I'm going to hurry. Now keep talking to me, that's an order."**_

"_I don't…I don't know if I can. It hurts…"_

"_**Then I'll talk to you, but when I ask questions you have to answer them, understand?"**_

"_I'll try."_

"_**Good. Now, are you bleeding?"**_

"_I don't know."_

"_**Does he have you tied up?"**_

"_Yes."_

"_**Can you see anything?"**_

"_No."_

"_**Are you sure you're in a car?"**_

"_It smells like gas and I know we're moving, so yes."_

"_**How bad does your head hurt?"**_

"_Bad."_

"…_**Do you love me?"**_

"_Yes…wait, what?"_

"_**Nothing, nothing, now just hold on a bit longer for me, okay?"**_

"_Stop asking so many questions."_

Megatron chuckled lightly at this and decided to stop interrogating her for now; especially he had found out all that he _really_ wanted to know. Mercy on the other hand was having a hard time comprehending what Megatron just asked and how she had answered, and especially why he had asked what he did. There was no reason for him to ask unless…unless that's what had been bothering him so much the last few days, the reason why he had been thinking so much.

He was always on her mind…was it possible she had constantly been on his? Her head hurt so much, it hurt to think, it made her dizzy, and the darkness that had consumed her earlier was threatening to consume her again. Momentary visions of blackness plagued her eyesight for a few seconds before passing, but she couldn't take it much longer.

"_Megatron…I…I can't…"_

"_**What's wrong?"**_

"_I can't stay…awake…"_

"_**It's okay Mercy, I'm coming, everything is going to be okay."**_

"_I…can't…"_

And that was the last thing she was able to say before she went offline again. Megatron slammed his fist on the desk. He couldn't believe he cared this much, he couldn't believe how much he had tried to comfort her; he couldn't believe how much his spark ached for her at the moment. He had to do something, but he couldn't rescue her alone. If he was ever going to turn Travis Chase in then he had to have proof against him…Megatron ejected the tape of his confession to killing Brenna and of his kidnapping Mercy. And he made a split second decision. He stared at the phone for a minute before putting the receiver to his audio receptor and dialing a number.

"New York State police, what is your emergency?"

* * *

Time to get the police involved...sorry DarkxPrince, I know you wanted Mercy to kill Travis, but if she went and killed him there wouldn't be a story...besides I still got a few chapters left to do. I'll say one thing though...you guys are gonna like the next chapter. Fluffiness for everyone!

Thanks to everyone whose been reading and reviewing, I appreciate it very much and look forward to some more brand-spanking-new reviews! XD I got to go to work now...joy...


	21. A New Destiny

Okay, so the last time I updated I had two weeks left of school...well now I have none and I'm happily on my summer vacation. FINALLY. Now as for this chapter, it's broken a few "records" in my book that is. First, none of my stories have gone past twenty chapters, until now since this story is now twenty-_one_ chapters long and will be longer. Second, this chapter is over 7000 words long, thereby making it the longest chapter I have ever written and stealing the title of the longest-chapter-ever away from chapter 10 of my story _Her Passionate Road Home_, that chapter being 6451 words. Yay for words, now this chapter contains the epitome of...ah I cannot say. Read on my fellow Fanfiction friends!

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-One: A New Destiny**

"_What is your emergency?"_

Megatron wasn't sure what to say, he knew he couldn't hang up but what happened when he didn't have anything to say? He needed the involvement of local law enforcement, but…oh, perhaps he should have thought this through rather than act on the spur of the moment.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

He sighed before saying into the receiver, "Yes."

"Is something wrong?"

"…I know where Mercy LeCroix is."

"…Could…could you repeat that sir?"

If Megatron could have rolled his optics he would have, "I know where Mercy LeCroix is."

"Where sir?"

"There are a few things I must make clear before I tell you where she is. First of all, she _did not_ murder Brenna Meyers. Second, she has been kidnapped…and her kidnapper is the one who committed the murder."

"Do you have proof of this?"

"I have all the proof you could want."

"…Where is Mercy?"

"With Travis Chase," Megatron elucidated quite simply.

"Could I have your address please?"

"I live in the next house up from Mercy's."

"Alright, we'll send a unit there immediately. Thank you sir," and the person hung up.

Megatron stared at the phone for a couple seconds before putting the receiver back in its rightful place. He wasn't sure how long it would take for the police officers to arrive at the house, so he quickly assumed his human form. He thought for a second before glancing at a lock of his hair…purple just wouldn't do at the moment. Using the dark energy, he changed his hair color, making it so blonde it was almost white. He hated this human form, he felt vulnerable and weak…something he _loathed_ being. He picked up the tape that contained the kidnapping and confession and looked at it, wishing it could provide any sort of clue as to where Travis Chase could have taken her.

The last thing the decepticon leader wanted was to walk in someplace and find Mercy harmed…or worse. Of course, if it came to be worse, he knew he'd be back in the void at any second. Megatron couldn't lose her now, not when he was so close to coming back to life, now that he was so close to _having_ her. He set the video down and glanced out the window into a hybrid world of winter and spring. Everything was dead even though everything was coming to life…just like him. Megatron sighed, why did so many things connect to him? Mercy was only supposed to be his connection back into the living…nothing more, nothing less. Yet she was _so much more_.

A loud knock at the door startled Megatron from his thoughts. He figured it must have been the police and he went to the door and answered it, and sure enough an officer was standing there.

"Are you the one who telephoned just a few moments ago?"

"Yes."

"May I have your name please?"

"_Slag…"_ Megatron thought and then said randomly, "Matt."

"Last name?"

"_Curse humans and their thorn bush of names…"_ he realized something and had to fight back a smirk as he finally said, "Thorne."

"Is this your house Mr. Thorne?" questioned the officer.

"Yes."

"You said Mercy LeCroix was kidnapped from your home, were you home when this happened?"

"No, I got it on tape. I have surveillance cameras positioned throughout the home. I'll show you."

The officer nodded and Megatron led him into the security room where he played the tape promptly for the officer. The officer swallowed before saying, "That's certainly authentic...though, why was Mercy here? Were you hiding her?"

"She's been innocent all along; I've committed no crime in letting her come here."

"Hold on a minute," exclaimed the officer and he removed his two-way radio from his belt before speaking into it, "Rivera to dispatch, the man who called is not lying, Mercy LeCroix was definitely here…and there is _extremely_ credible evidence that she did not commit the murder. I request back up and a full background check on this Travis Chase character, over."

"Received. Another unit is on its way, dispatch out."

The officer looked at Megatron, "Are you a close friend of Mercy's?"

"Very close," Megatron replied not liking all these questions.

"How long has she been here?"

"Just a couple days."

"Were you at all involved with the bombings at the prison Mercy was being held in while she was in Pennsylvania?"

Megatron decided to play dumb, "Bombings…what?"

"Er…never mind. Do you know who brought her back here to New York so quickly?"

"No, she just showed up on my doorstep."

"If charges are held against Mercy, do you realize you could face prison time for housing an escaped and alleged criminal?"

"She's not a criminal," Megatron answered, "Look, as much as I _appreciate_ all the questions; I think Mercy's well-being is a lot more important."

"We'll do what we can when the back up unit arrives. Are you romantically involved with Mercy?"

"Do I have to answer that?"

The officer gave him a look, though Megatron knew when he conquered the universe that he would personally squish this officer. He finally sighed before replying, "No."

"I see."

Suddenly a siren blared once outside and the officer immediately turned his attention to the doorway of the security room. He made a motion for Megatron to follow him and reluctantly the decepticon leader followed the police officer over to the front door where the other officers from the back up unit were let in. There were seven officers now, all ready and eager to find out just what was going on. Officer Rivera explained what was going on to them as Megatron waited, patience growing thin. When the explanations were finally over, one of the new officers looked over to Megatron and asked, "Perhaps you should come down to the station for further questioning while we try to figure out where Travis has taken Mercy."

Megatron shook his head, "No, I'm not going anywhere until Mercy is found."

"Do you have any sort of idea where Travis could have taken her?" chimed in another officer.

The decepticon leader glanced over at him feeling like he was working with the world's biggest bunch of idiots, "Perhaps you could search his home, that seems like the most logical thing to do."

"Do you know where he lives?"

"I haven't the slightest idea."

"You said he was a student teacher in the high school?"

"Yes."

The officer who had asked that question proceeded to say, "They have papers on him, we'll check there for his address."

"Right, where is your phone located sir?"

"In the room right over there."

The officer nodded and proceeded to call over to the school since it wasn't that late and one of the secretaries or something was still bound to be there. Half a ring and then, "Pine Grove Central Academy, Lucy Donaldson speaking."

"Hello, this is Officer Lyndon of the New York State police department speaking. My fellow officers and I have every reason to believe that the recently appointed student teacher, Travis Chase, has committed a murder and kidnapping."

"Oh my gosh—

"His home address is required."

"I'll look up his file right away. Hold on a moment please."

The officer waited, twisting the phone cord around his index finger as he did so. Finally the secretary came back on the phone and said, "His home address is of a house in Florida, but I do have the address of his current residence here in New York."

"Give me that then please."

And she told him the address. The officer wrote it down as she dictated it to him, after he confirmed that he had the right address, he thanked her and then hung up the phone. While he had been on the phone, another officer called back to the station to confirm whether or not it was legal to break into Travis's home without a warrant. The station replied that it was just fine since he had kidnapped Mercy and their top priority was freeing her and bringing him…and possibly her, to justice.

One of the officer's turned to Megatron and said, "We're leaving, and we will take you down to the station for further questioning."

Megatron shook his head, "I'm going with you of course…but to Travis Chase's house."

The officer disagreed, "No, it's too dangerous for an average citizen."

Megatron glowered and hissed with utmost venom in his voice, "I'm going with you to his house."

Another of the officer's shrugged, "If he wants to die, let him."

Megatron proceeded to shoot him a nasty glare and the officer quickly added, "You can come with us, but just don't go inside until we know it's safe."

"Fair enough," Megatron finally agreed figuring he couldn't get anymore leeway from the officers.

With that settled they left the home and got in the police cars and headed towards Travis Chase's address. Since he was not allowed in the front seat, Megatron unwillingly sat in the back seat of Officer Rivera's car. He felt like the prisoner now…when he knew the only prisoner at the moment was Mercy.

* * *

Mercy was just starting to regain consciousness when suddenly the trunk popped open and she felt herself be lifted out of it. She was vaguely aware of what was going on and jumped when she heard the trunk slam shut. A man laughed and then he started walking. She could hear his footsteps as he scuffed his shoes against the ground and she felt as if she were bouncing from time to time. As she became more aware of what was going on, she remembered suddenly and harshly what was going on. She had been kidnapped…and right now Travis Chase was carrying her somewhere, she didn't know where because he still had her wrapped completely up in a blanket. Blindly she twisted herself, trying to get out of his grasp, but he held on to her tighter, and it felt like he was crushing her.

"I still have a gun," he warned suddenly.

Mercy immediately ceased her thrashing and fell limp in his arms. She listened as a door opened and he stepped forward and then the door creaked shut behind him. He set her down somewhere and then she heard him walk away. Slowly she uncovered herself from the blanket and saw that he had placed her on a couch. She sat their trembling, unsure of whether or not to make a break towards the door before Brenna's killer came back. Before she had the chance to make up her mind though, Travis came back, duct tape and rope in hand. Mercy felt her hopes sink.

Megatron was supposed to be coming. But how could he free her without showing who he really was? And above all things, just how was he supposed to find her? Mercy couldn't direct him to the house because she didn't even know where it was even though she was currently inside it. But what if he had been lying? What if he truly didn't care? What if he wasn't coming? It wasn't unlike him to lie to her. Just what reason did he have to come and rescue her anyway? She had caused him plenty of trouble and rescuing her would just be even more trouble for him. All he had to do was collect the last of the energy he needed to come back into the living…and Mercy knew it wasn't much. He had been around for so long now, she knew that it was any day now that he would be alive again and able to return to his home world and do as he please…without her. And she knew that day would kill her.

She heard Travis snap the rope threateningly and she cast her frightened gaze over to him. He smiled, "I hope you're into bondage."

Mercy closed her eyes thinking that this couldn't be true, that this should've been a really bad nightmare, but it wasn't. It was a living hell. She shook her head as a reply to Travis's statement. He frowned menacingly.

"Well you don't have a choice," he sneered as he sauntered over to her and tore her off of the couch and dragged her viciously into the bedroom.

Mercy felt tears well up in her eyes as he pinned her to the bed and mercilessly tied her arms to her torso so tightly that she couldn't move without it hurting. He used duct tape to tie her legs at her ankles and then proceeded to place a piece of tape over her mouth to keep her from shouting or speaking. Travis snickered as Mercy struggled beneath him.

"You are powerless Mercy, _powerless_…" he trailed off and then continued, "And you'll learn to like this."

Despite how much people had suspected her, Mercy knew she _wasn't_ the psychopath; oh no she wasn't even _close._ This man, this _monster_ was the psychopath. He killed without caring, he kidnapped without caring, and now he was going to sexually violate her without caring. He had ruined her life, she thought it had been Megatron, but no, Megatron hadn't killed her only friend, Megatron hadn't kidnapped her, and he certainly hadn't committed any unfair or abusive sexual acts against her.

He leaned closer to her, and he briefly turned to show that he still had the gun on his belt. Mercy shifted, pressing herself down into the bed. Travis noticed and growled before slapping her harshly across the face where he had hit her with the gun. Tears escaped Mercy's eyes. She wasn't sure now if they were tears of pain, tears of fear, or tears of utmost and bitter hate.

And he noticed something.

"You're not scared…" he seemed almost disappointed, as if he had been feeding off her fear, "Well, we can't have that." And he removed his gun from his belt and held the barrel right against her temple before saying with a hint of entertainment in his cynical voice, "I have a feeling that if I shot you it wouldn't kill you…heck I have a feeling you're not even human."

He traced a finger up her leg, "I'm going to get under your skin Mercy. I want to know what you are."

She shifted uncomfortably and felt fear slice completely through her as Travis traced a finger on the fly of her pants. Her eyes went wide and she tried to role over, but Travis held her where she was.

"Enough of this," he finally said after returning the gun to his belt. He leaned forward and roughly kissed Mercy's neck, nipping her metallic flesh with his sharp teeth. Mercy felt tears stream down her cheeks as she felt his rough and cold hands slide down her front and under her shirt.

There was a loud and demanding knock at the front door.

Travis snapped his attention towards the door and decided to ignore it. There were three more knocks until a loud and commanding voice demanded from the other side of the door, "This is the police, open up the door _immediately_!"

"F—k," Travis exclaimed and got up from the bed. He suddenly got and idea and dragged Mercy out to the couch and proceeded to answer the front door while saying, "Oh thank God you came, this little abomination broke into my house and I just managed to restrain her—

"Save it, we already know you kidnapped her," interrupted one of the officers while he looked over at Mercy. He then turned to Travis and narrowed his eyes, "You are under arrest."

Travis backed up, "Under arrest? What proof do you have against me? I didn't do anything—

"We've got you kidnapping Mercy on tape, as well as your confession to murdering Brenna Meyers."

Travis was stunned, "What?! Where did you get a tape?"

"You have the right to be silent Mr. Chase," said the officer as he pulled out a pair of handcuffs, "Anything you say can and will be—

"F—k it!" Travis shouted as he backed up against the couch. Thinking quickly, he yanked Mercy to her feet and held her in a headlock, gun removed from his belt and aimed at Mercy's injured temple.

* * *

Megatron sighed completely frustrated. He was stuck in the back of a police car while the rest of the officers went off to rescue Mercy…no they weren't in the house to rescue her, they were in there to earn themselves a title…they were just living for the thrill of the moment, to build their reputations. Megatron wouldn't have it. The last thing he wanted was the title of hero; all he wanted to do was rescue _his_ Mercy. But he had to get out of the cop car first…he smiled evilly as he opened a dimension gate and slipped through it, ending up outside of the car. He glanced at the front door where the officers were gathered and he knew that something was going extremely wrong. Megatron walked quietly up to the group of officers, though he couldn't see what was going on. He quickly glanced at the officers belts and noticed that they all had their guns out. Disgusted, Megatron walked away from them and headed around to the back of the house. He knew humans liked to have things called "back doors" in their homes…there was no reason for Travis to be an exception to this.

* * *

Travis threatened to shoot Mercy if the police didn't leave his house immediately. Deciding not to fool around, the police officers left the home and regrouped to their cars, only to discover that "Matt" wasn't there. Unsure of how he got out of the car, the police knew they had to make finding him one of their priorities as they called for more back up and a SWAT team. This was a hostage situation, and considering that Travis had killed before…they couldn't risk him killing again.

One of the officers immediately took charge; he ordered two of them to search the property for any sign of Matt. The rest were to keep an eye on the house and weapons ready at all times while they tried to develop a plan of attack. They weren't used to this kind of situation; in fact none of the officers had ever been through a situation like this. It was all new to them even though they had been trained for events such as this, yet there was nothing like the real thing.

* * *

Travis dragged Mercy into what looked like an office. The room lacked windows and Mercy saw why he chose this room. The room was located somewhere within the house where the light of day could not be found. He left the door to the room open though, obviously feeling invincible because a single handgun let him control the New York State police department. He smirked as he thought that, and proceeded to shove Mercy onto the desk in the room. She sat there, staring scared and blankly back at him.

"We've got time Mercy," he breathed as he locked a hand on her cheek.

She muffled the word no and tried to move away from him, but he held her where she was. Without warning he ripped the duct tape off her mouth causing tears to travel to her eyes. He laughed watching her blink her tears away before saying, "You coward, just let them flow."

She didn't say anything; she just looked away from him, too terrified to look at him. He noticed, "Look at me Mercy."

Mercy kept her gaze to the floor.

"You remember what happened to Brenna don't you?"

"I'd rather be dead than with you!" she exclaimed looking up at him finally.

He growled, "Is that so?"

She quickly looked away from him, tears once again in her eyes. Where was Megatron now when she needed him the most? She was probably going to die now because of the stupid thing that she just said, Travis wouldn't hesitate to kill her, he didn't hesitate to kill Brenna when she refused him. It wasn't stupid though, it was true, as true as could be. Mercy just didn't want to die. Sure she despised her life but that didn't mean she didn't want to try and turn it around. Things could be different for her now; she realized who she really was from the time she spent with Megatron. She found her herself…and to have her life ripped away from her now just wasn't fair. Megatron had promised her that he would rescue her…but he wasn't there…and Mercy knew that she was on her own, despite how much her heart hurt from knowing that Megatron didn't care about her enough to rescue her a final time.

"Do you want me to kill you Mercy?"

She whimpered, "No."

"I won't kill you then…I won't unless you give me one thing."

"W-What?" she asked softly.

"You're heart."

"I…I can't."

He growled, "Why not?"

"I don't have a heart to give."

Travis looked at her like she was insane. "What kind of person are you?" he finally asked, "You'll give your heart to me even if I have to carve it out of your chest myself!"

Mercy began to cry again, "Why do you want me so bad? Why can't you torture someone else?"

"Because," he said gently, all signs of anger etched away, "I know there's something different about you, that you're hiding something. I want to know what you are…and you're just so irresistible."

He leaned forward to capture her lips in a kiss but Mercy leaned away, angering Travis once again. Frustrated he balled his fist and slapped it across her face, Mercy let a small whimper escape her throat, but she didn't look back at him as she cried, hanging her head. One of these times her luck was going to run out.

And Travis was going to get his way.

* * *

Megatron found the back door, grateful to have found it knowing it was his passageway to Mercy. He didn't want to open a dimension gate into the home for the fear of being seen, instead he tried the door only to discover that is was…unlocked. Soundlessly, Megatron entered the home. He knew he had to find Mercy fast because he was unsure of how much harm Travis could inflict upon her. The last thing he wanted was Mercy beaten out of commission. She didn't deserve such a punishment…she only deserved to be left alone, to be left at peace for once, though every time she sought serenity, the world always managed to find a way to deny her.

Slipping through a room, Megatron headed down a hallway hoping that he was heading in Mercy's direction. As he passed by rooms he glanced in to see if the courageous lavender-headed girl he had come to know was inside…but she never was. Reaching the end of the hallway, Megatron turned to head back down it to search the rest of the premises when a noise emitted from the room he had just passed by caught his attention. Curious, the decepticon leader entered the room only to find a door that was slightly ajar located on the far-side of the room. Thinking it was a closet of some sort and that Travis may have shoved Mercy in there, Megatron went over to the door and opened it, only to find a staircase. Cautiously, Megatron began to climb the staircase as silently as he could, listening for any possible noises from either Mercy or Travis. When he got to the top of the stairs, he glanced around and saw that there were a few rooms. There was one room in particular though that caught Megatron's attention only because this room had its door open, and the shadows of two figures were visible against the floor. Megatron charged over to the room and stopped just outside the doorway to listen in on any possible conversation between Travis and Mercy and to hear his cue on when to make his entrance.

* * *

Mercy's keen ears picked up the sound of footsteps first. When Travis saw her looking out the door and concentrating whole-heartedly on something, he too listened only to hear the same footsteps that Mercy did. Instinctively he grabbed his gun and whispered harshly, "Somebody found us."

The girl didn't say anything and watched as Travis tore the sleeve to his shirt off and used it to gag her and prevent her from talking. The man then pulled her up from the desk that she was seated on and forced her into a small closest in the back of the room, locking her in there. Travis then waited for the person to make an appearance, and he didn't have to wait long.

Megatron showed himself, he stood right in the doorway as Travis aimed his gun at him and exclaimed, "You aren't any cop."

Megatron crossed his arms, "Congratulations on noticing, now hand over Mercy."

"Why don't I just shoot you instead?"

"Shoot me all you want," Megatron taunted, "I'll _kill_ you."

"You can't kill me if you're dead."

"You can't kill me."

Laughing, Travis shot the gun and watched horrified as the bullet pinged off Megatron's flesh. The decepticon leader was laughing now, "You're better off just handing Mercy over to me before this gets ugly."

"W-Who are you?"

Megatron smiled evilly as he sauntered over to Travis and grabbed him by the throat. Thrusting him into a wall he snarled, "You're worst nightmare…now let Mercy go."

"No," hissed Travis, "She's mine."

Megatron tightened his grip on Travis's throat, causing him to gag, "I beg to differ. Look, you don't know who I really am, and trust me, you don't want to know."

"You're just the scum of the earth, now let me go."

"Scum of the earth…I'm not even from earth."

Travis narrowed his eyes, his face drained of any amusement whatsoever, "Oh yeah, and I'm from Mars."

Megatron allowed his human form to fall away and smirked at Travis's shocked, confused, and terrified look. He said bitterly, "You see, _Travis_, I am a lot more than meets the eye. Now, if you don't hand over Mercy to me…I will not hesitate to rip you from limb to limb."

The man's eyes widened and he stuttered, "She's in th-there, j-just let me g-go I swear I'll t-turn myself in."

"You better," Megatron stated in a threatening voice, "Or I'll come looking for you." And he let Travis go, watching with an amused and satisfied look on his face as Travis tore down the stairs of his home. The decepticon leader then turned to the closet where Mercy was being kept and went over to it, opening the door. Since she could not stand from the duct tape that bound her ankles, she sat on the floor, looking up at Megatron completely surprised to see him.

Without saying a word, Megatron lifted her up out of the closet and sat her on the desk where he promptly unbound her ankles and arms. As he removed the gag from her mouth, he couldn't help but to stare at her lips. He felt a gear inside him whir as he thought a small taste wouldn't hurt…he had almost kissed her the other morning. He shook his head mentally and tossed the gag aside.

"Are you alright?" he finally asked, optics roaming over her to check for any injuries.

"I'm a little banged up," she answered softly and hesitated before she threw herself against him, wrapping her arms around him and sobbing into his chest, "I didn't think you were going to come…I thought for sure he would kill me…I—

He wrapped his arms around her, holding her as close as he could. "I owe my life to you Mercy, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be getting a second chance at life. Saving yours is the least I can do."

She hugged him tighter, thrilled that he finally understood her, thrilled that he wasn't rejecting her, thrilled that he had saved her life…thrilled at everything he had done. Slowly she began to calm down and even more slowly the pain from her injuries began to subside. She was caught off guard when Megatron held her away from him a bit, cupping her face with his hand as he held her with his other arm. He gazed at her lips for another brief moment before whispering harshly, "I hate what you've done to me."

"I—

He pressed his lips to hers in a forceful and hungry kiss. Startled, Mercy gasped and snapped her head away, looking at Megatron with a face full of surprise. He chuckled briefly before he captured her lips again with his and this time Mercy didn't pull away. Blindly, Mercy slid a hand up Megatron's cockpit, causing him to growl as glimpses of ecstasy cascaded through him. Megatron pressed her against a wall, deepening the kiss, knowing that the police could wait for them.

It was so much more than lust, Megatron knew that now. And this kiss wasn't enough for him. He wanted more, he wanted no scraps of clothing in his way, he wanted to merge his spark with hers, he wanted her to be with him when he took command of the universe, and he wanted her…forever.

The kiss broke momentarily, there faces only a breath apart as Megatron whispered bitterly, "You found something in me that nobody has ever found before."

"Megatron, I—

He growled before seizing her lips again with his own, kissing her more passionately than he had the first time. Hands searched her body while hands roamed his. He pressed himself closer to her, feeling as if he wasn't close enough to her even though he couldn't get any closer. The decepticon leader pulled away briefly again to whisper, this time gently, "You found my spark."

Footsteps were heard on the stairs and both Megatron and Mercy looked to the doorway, upset that their moment had been ruined. Megatron quickly assumed his human form with blonde hair and pulled away from Mercy only to turn and see the embarrassed looks coming from the officers who had come up the stairs. Megatron smiled, not embarrassed to show off his pleasures. Mercy, on the other hand, stepped behind the decepticon leader the best that she could. Finally one of the officers cleared their throat and said, "Travis has been arrested, I'm not sure what you did to him Mr. Thorne, but you scared the sh—crap out of him, and your services are greatly appreciated, though we do not recommend you performing a stunt similar to this one again. As for you Miss Mercy, the judge has been notified and we are currently working to get all charges dropped against you. However, until the charges are dropped, that is _if_ they are dropped, you have to come down to the station."

Mercy glanced at Megatron before asking the officer, "Can he come to?"

"I…suppose," the officer replied, "Now let's get going—

"If you don't mind me asking," Megatron suddenly piped up, "Just what are the chances of this judge dropping the charges against Mercy?"

The officer shrugged, "There's no way of telling. Now let's go."

Megatron and Mercy glanced at each other briefly before he placed a hand on the small of her back and gently nudged her forward. They let the police lead them out of the house where a crowd had gathered, including news reporters. The officers kept the crowd back, as well as the paparazzi, knowing that Mercy did not need to be bothered by them right now. Mercy and Megatron were allowed to get into the backseat of the same police car. On the way to the police station, the decepticon leader glanced over at Mercy and saw that she was nervously fiddling with her hands. He leaned over, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and placing a hand on her hands. He then gently whispered in her ear, "Everything is going to be just fine. They're going to let you go home."

She looked over to him briefly before leaning against him, holding onto his hand firmly with both of hers. He stroked her shoulder comfortingly. The officers in the front seat ignored them, feeling awkward and thus they tried to get to the station as fast as they possibly could. It wasn't long before they arrived there, and the officers escorted Megatron and Mercy inside. And to Mercy's astonishment, she wasn't taken behind bars; they let her remain in the lobby under the watchful gaze of a few security guards. There was a bench in the lobby, where Mercy took a seat and Megatron sat down next to her. Nobody was sure how long this would take; the judge had to decide, along with the jury, and other members of the court. The girl merely rested against the decepticon leader while he wrapped a comforting arm around her.

He murmured, "What about your injuries?"

"They're not that bad, they can wait," she replied quietly.

"Still, you need repairs."

"Not right now…"

"No, not now, but when you get home."

"If I make it home."

"You'll make it; they've got to realize that you've been through enough as it is already."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"When are you leaving?"

"When I'm alive again," he whispered, "Which is…at anytime now."

She looked up at him, "Take me with you…please. I don't…I don't want you to go."

He kissed her forehead, "I know, Mercy…I know."

And that was all he said. He wasn't going to promise her anything, he couldn't, because he knew he'd just end up breaking his promise in the end. The last thing he wanted to do was leave her behind, all by herself, like her parents had. All she ever cared about either was ripped violently away from her or just walked out of her life…he didn't want to follow that trend with her, but he had to. He had so many enemies on Cybertron…there were so many that could simply crush her because she was so small, so fragile. There was no way she could defend herself from a full-size transformer, yet she had defended herself from the leader of the decepticons, and she had completely changed him.

"_Curse the human race,"_ he thought, _"Those over-emotional flesh bags."_

Yet, the human race was a fascinating species, with their abilities to adapt and to learn, to speak, to feel. They were a weak species, but they had accomplished so much and had been around for so long. Their technology had evolved, their knowledge evolved, and they still continued to evolve to make their species better. They only lived a hundred years, but it probably wouldn't be much longer until they could live much longer than that, like a transformer. The humans were slowly becoming more and more robotic themselves, with their artificial hearts and robotic artificial limbs, artificial limbs that now sent pulses to the nerves and brain that allowed people to feel again with that missing limb. And they had only accomplished this in the last 100,000 years; imagine what another 100,000 years could bring.

And perhaps Megatron hadn't hated the human race like he thought he had all along, perhaps he had just been jealous of their over-emotional nature, their ability to feel a rainbow of emotions unlike him.

Maybe, just maybe, finding Mercy had been part of a new destiny, a new destiny to destroy his old fate of never being able to care, to love.

* * *

It was pitch black outside and a light snow was falling, Mercy had fallen asleep, tired from all the events that had transpired that day. Megatron was awake though, watching the snow falling since he really couldn't do much else. They had been there for a few hours now, waiting for the court to come back with the decision on whether or not Mercy could go free. And finally, an officer came out from the court room and asked if Mercy would come with him.

Megatron woke Mercy up, telling her that the officer requested that she went with him. Mercy thought for sure he was going to arrest her, but he kept the handcuffs at his side as he led her behind a door and into the court room where the judge was waiting. The judge waited until the officer left the room before he spoke, "So you're Mercy."

"Yes your honor," she replied.

"Just whose idea was it to drop the charges against you? You understand that there are plenty of charges on you…running from law enforcement, escaping from prison, creating a false identity, theft, etc." he paused and watched as Mercy looked to the floor with the most downcast look he had ever seen, "Yet you did this all just to prove that we were wrong and that you were indeed innocent."

Mercy looked up surprised and the judge continued, "You were kidnapped and beaten, threatened, and almost killed by that sick man who is now behind bars, the truly guilty person. You are a courageous and strong individual Mercy LeCroix; you did what you had to, to protect yourself from a falsehood and terrible mistake on our part. If you ever find it in your heart to forgive us Mercy, for the trouble we have caused you, we would be eternally grateful. As part of our apology, we do drop all charges against you, and hope that you accept 75,000 dollars for all the trouble we have caused you, as well as for the trouble Travis has caused you."

Mercy was shocked, "Your honor, the charges being dropped was enough for me to forgive you. I don't need the money."

"We…know what your parents did to you. You need the money."

"If you insist your honor," Mercy replied knowing that she wouldn't be able to change the judge's mind.

He nodded, "All the best to you Mercy."

"Thank you."

He banged the mallet and Mercy was free to go, the officer came back in and escorted Mercy out. Megatron stood when she came back into the room and she ran into his arms while tears streamed down her face from happiness, happiness she hadn't felt since Megatron had kissed her, "I can go home."

Megatron smiled and wrapped his arms tightly around her, "In that case, let's go home."

The officer crossed his arms…his name tag reading "Rivera" and he said, "I thought you said you weren't romantically involved with her."

"Well, I wasn't when you asked me," Megatron replied, causing Officer Rivera to shake his head.

Megatron and Mercy then left the station, and when they were out of seeing range, Megatron opened a dimension gate and he and Mercy stepped through it, back into Mercy's real home, and she was so grateful to be _home_.

Turning back into his robot form, Megatron pulled Mercy into his arms saying, "Not bad for your second day back…you managed to find Brenna's killer a lot sooner than what we both expected."

Mercy nodded, "Thank God. I just hope he gets what he deserves."

"If he doesn't," Megatron said, "I'll make sure he will. Now it's getting late, and you have school tomorrow."

Mercy gave him a look and he simply smiled before saying, "Let's get to bed."

She nodded, tiredly, unable to put up much of a protest because she knew how tired she was. Reluctantly, she pulled out of Megatron's embrace and started towards her bedroom when Megatron grabbed her by the hand and caused her to stop. She looked back to him, and he approached her, lifting her in his arms he carried her into her room where he laid her on the bed and settled down beside her.

He pulled her into his arms and quietly kissed her lips before breathing, "Goodnight Mercy."

"Goodnight," she whispered, falling asleep not long afterwards.

Megatron stroked his fingers through her hair gently, planning on spending the entire night just gazing at her. He knew it would be sometime tomorrow that his energy would be completely replenished and that he would really be alive again. He was going to make his leave as quickly and hopefully as painlessly as possible…perhaps tomorrow morning before Mercy even woke up. It would be so much easier for her and for him only for one reason.

Neither of them would have to say goodbye.

There, this chapter was the epitome of romance...now I have to go to bed but I don't want to because somewhere in my room is a big black giant spider and I last saw it on my bed. (shivers) I hate spiders. So creepy and yucky. Anyway, thanks to all of you guys who have been reviewing, I'd greatly appreciate more reviews, especially for this chapter because it was soooooo long. I'm going to update my other stories now...because I've been updating this one so much. But yeah, it's eleven at night and I'm tired. Night people's, leave a review on your way out.


	22. Make My Heart a Better Place

Whoo hoo another chapter that's over 7000 words long. It took me a couple days to write this though...and I'm pretty satisfied with it. I hope you enjoy! Oh, before I forget, the song in this chapter is All I Need by Within Temptation and does not belong to me, it belongs to Within Temptation...that was rather redundant...

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Make My Heart a Better Place**

Megatron wasn't sure what time it was when he suddenly onlined his optics and realized he had fallen asleep. Promptly he checked the time on his internal clock and saw it was just after five o'clock in the morning. He sighed heavily and knew he had to leave before Mercy woke up or before he accidentally woke her. Checking his energy levels he saw that he wasn't alive yet and that only a tiny amount of dark energy was needed to completely bring him back into the living. He wasn't sure where he could get that small amount though, especially when he needed to leave really soon. Megatron glanced down to Mercy and suddenly remembered how he had placed some of his dark energy within her mind to create the telepathic link and to punish her when he deemed necessary. There was nothing left to punish her for though…and even if there was he knew that he could not bring it upon himself to harm her or punish her in such a violent means as he used to. His feelings had gotten in the way of everything…

Gently, Megatron place his hand on Mercy's head and carefully began extracting the dark energy from her mind and into his being. She remained sleeping throughout the entire process, and Megatron let a heavy sigh pass his lips when there was no more left to take. There wasn't anyway for them to speak to each other through their minds anymore. Their telepathic link had been severed…

Suddenly the decepticon leader felt a tingling sensation erupt throughout his body and realized that he finally had enough energy to restore him into the living. Unsure of what would happen; Megatron climbed rather roughly out of the bed and proceeded outside. He didn't want to be inside incase he were to assume his normal size.

* * *

Mercy was woken from her sleep when she felt Megatron get up. She opened her eyes just in time to witness him walk out of her room and turn to go up the hallway. She sat up and when she heard the door close, she freaked out and bolted from the bed. Mercy ran up the hallway and burst outside just in time to see Megatron start glowing. The glowing became so bright, Mercy had to look away until it subsided and the decepticon leader was left standing there at his true height…and truly alive again.

The android's jaw dropped as she looked up at the decepticon leader who now towered over her. She hadn't known that he was _that_ tall…she knew that his real form was tall from the dreams he had sent her when he was still trapped in the void…but she never had imagined he was of this height. She sighed seeing how a relationship between them would never work with the size difference. But she couldn't stop her heart from crying out when Megatron opened a dimension gate to leave.

"Megatron!" she shouted.

He whipped around to face her surprised that she was awake and standing shoeless on a snow-dusted ground. "Mercy," he breathed, his voice seemed more empowering and louder now, "I have to go."

"I know…but take me with you…please," she stated, her voice trying to hide the screams of her breaking heart.

"I can't Mercy…it's too risky." And he turned back to the dimension gate.

"No!" Mercy screamed and ran up to him. Tears streamed down her face as she panted, looking up at him, her breath making little clouds around her face. She hugged herself in an effort to warm herself from the cold breeze that whipped against her.

_I'm dying to catch my breath,_

_Oh why don't I ever learn?_

Megatron glanced down to her and back to the dimension gate. It killed him to have to walk away from her like this, but he knew it had to be done. Yet, if he left Mercy behind like this…if their paths were to ever cross again…she'd never trust him again. He looked back at her wishing she was back in bed and asleep so that he wouldn't have to go through this with her, this heartbreak. The last thing he wanted to do was to say goodbye to her and hear her say goodbye to him because he knew he would never be able to leave if he heard that word escape from her lips. And it pained him so to see her standing there, trembling and crying yet he couldn't do anything to mend a broken heart.

There was nothing he could do to turn this around, at some point he was going to have to leave whether Mercy liked it or not…whether he liked it or not.

_I've lost all my trust,_

_Though I've surely tried to turn it around_

As hard as he tried though, Megatron could not will himself to go through the dimension gate. He knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he left her behind standing shoeless in the snow, shivering from the cold, and crying from a heartache while he went to Cybertron to resume his role as leader of the decepticons.

He looked down at her, "Mercy, you knew this day would come."

"And I used to be eager for it…but you and I both know that something has happened between us." And then she said in a voice full of pain, "I just can't believe you're so willing to walk away from it."

Megatron became angered when he heard those words and he looked down at her glaring.

_Can you still see the heart of me?_

He turned fully to her and Mercy thought for sure that he was going to step on her or crush her or something, that was until he assumed his old size and roughly pulled her against him. Tilting her chin up to his face he growled in an anger-filled voice, "If the circumstances presented themselves then you would be coming to Cybertron with me! I have a lot of enemies Mercy; a lot of enemies that would target you if they were to _ever _find out you were my weakness. And don't you dare say you can defend yourself…you can't against them!"

Mercy looked away from him as she squeezed her eyes closed, tears still streaming out, "Why do you have to go back then? Why can't you stay here?"

"My duties are on Cybertron, and you're safe here by yourself without my enemies to find you," he sighed heavily, "It would just be easier for the both of us if we forgot what happened here to us...if we just moved on."

"Fine then," she remarked bitterly and she shoved away from him, "Be like everybody else who I've ever grown attached to…just _leave_!"

Megatron watched her start walking away from him…and it was too much. He went after her and seized her in his arms, holding her tightly against him and he said in a gentle voice, "No Mercy, I don't want to be like your parents and Primus forbid I don't want to be like Brenna…I just want you to be safe."

Her voice broke as she exclaimed, "Then don't leave me behind like they did!"

He hugged her tightly against him as she cried into his chest.

_All my agony fades away_

_When you hold me in your embrace_

Megatron gently caressed her back with his hands and kissed her neck passionately as she continued to sob into his chest. "Mercy you need to go back inside before you get sick," he said sternly, "We both know that your temperature control system doesn't work properly."

"I'm not going back inside unless you come with me."

He glanced at her temple and saw that it still needed repairs from yesterday. His optics then wandered over to the dimension gate that was still open, waiting for him to pass through and return to his rightful home.

His home world could wait for them…

_Don't tear me down for all I need_

_Make my heart a better place_

_Give me something I can believe_

_Don't tear me down_

_You've opened the door_

_Now don't let it close_

Megatron didn't dare let her go because he knew the moment he did he'd step into the dimension gate. _"Close it,"_ he told himself as he let his optics go offline, _"Close it!"_

Yet the gate stayed open and he was forced to peal his optics away from it yet again as he looked back down to Mercy who had ceased her crying now and was simply resting against him, not daring to let him go because she didn't want to lose him…she couldn't.

"Mercy, if you…if you love me…then you'd understand," he breathed feeling so guilty for saying those words.

"It's your home and I shouldn't be holding you back," she answered softly trying to show that she did understand, "I respect that…but I don't want to lose you."

"You're making this _so_ difficult."

"You've never made things easy either."

_I'm here on the edge again_

_I wish I could let it go_

"Mercy, at some point I'm going to have to leave and it'll be easier if you just let me go now."

"I told you to leave…yet you pulled me back."

She had a point there, and Megatron was left speechless as he continued stroking her back with his hands. He loved how soft her body was…how warm it was despite the cold…how beautiful it was, even if she didn't think so. He didn't want to leave her behind…she needed him…he needed her…just what would happen when they didn't have the other?

Megatron had never pictured himself without Mercy ever since he had grown fond of her. Somehow she had always been in his thoughts and in his dreams, but now he had to chase her away, to get her out of his life for her safety…but he didn't want her out and she didn't want out.

Maybe…maybe he could take her with him.

_I'm know that I'm only step away_

_From turning it around_

But he didn't want to put her in harms way. Gently he moved one hand to her face where he softly stroked her tearstained cheek. He sighed heavily; this was taking far too long. He needed to decide on something and he needed to decide it quickly.

He didn't notice as Mercy suddenly realized something. The decepticon leader was a bit surprised when she moved out of his embrace and he watched her for a moment as she stared at the back door of her home for a few long moments. She then looked back at him and said, "If you're leaving…then so am I."

"Where…where to?"

_Can you still see the heart of me?_

"I shouldn't have to tell you. Look," she said and she pointed towards her house.

Megatron followed her finger and tried to figure out what she was gesturing at, but when he couldn't he turned back to her and saw her about to step through the dimension gate herself. His mech fluids froze and he quickly closed the gate before Mercy had the chance to step through without him.

"Mercy!" he growled through clenched teeth.

Before Mercy could react, he had flown at her, knocking her to the snow-dusted ground where he roughly pinned her. He had her pinned so tightly that it was all she could do to squirm.

_All my agony fades away_

_When you hold me in your embrace_

"Just what sort of _trickery_ was that?" demanded the decepticon leader, temper lost, "I know this is hard for you, but you've got to understand that I don't want anything to happen to you. That's why I want you to stay here!"

"I don't belong here!" she protested, "I'm not even a human anymore because of you."

"You have to learn to cope!"

"Cope? Why did you destroy me in the first place?!"

"You're impossible," he growled.

"Yet you never complained until now."

He smirked, nipping her neck.

_Don't tear me down for all I need_

_Make my heart a better place_

_Give me something I can believe_

He figured now was just as good a time as any to repair her damaged temple. He took out a small soldering tool and watched as Mercy's expression dropped, "Just what do you plan on doing with that?"

"Repair you," he replied, "Now hold still."

And she didn't move. Megatron tilted her head to the side and began fixing her injured temple, which really wasn't that bad.

_Don't tear it down, what's left of me_

_Make my heart a better place_

When he finished, Megatron put the soldering utensil away and gazed at Mercy a moment before saying, "You should be in school…"

Mercy checked the time on her internal clock and realized that it was nearly 8:30am…that so much time had flown by. If there was only a way to make forever come by…forever without Megatron leaving…forever without them being separated…a forever of them together.

"I'll be alright if I don't go to school today…after what happened yesterday they'll understand."

Megatron narrowed his optics at her for a moment trying to decide on something. Perhaps…he could stay one more day then. That way he could leave the next morning before Mercy woke up so that he wouldn't have to go through another struggle like this. And what was one more day if he planned on spending an eternity away from her?

But he knew he was going to miss her terribly. He was going to miss her unlike any other femme he had ever had…

_I tried many times but nothing was real_

_Make it fade away, don't break me down_

Mercy sighed as she watched him think. She prayed he was thinking about staying or taking her with him so that she wouldn't have to go through this heartbreak. It was too much and it was something she absolutely did not want to have muscle her way through. She had been through enough as it was already…

Though Mercy was having a hard time dealing with the overwhelming feeling of love that swelled and pulsed in her chest. She had never felt this much for anyone before and she didn't want this feeling to be ripped away from her. She felt so complete, she felt so alive…she felt so real. It would kill her if Megatron left her…

She was scared to death to know what would happen if she really did have to face the world without him…to face the world completely _alone_.

_I want to believe that this is for real_

_Save me from my fear_

_Don't tear me down_

And suddenly it began to rain…it was a cold rain, but it wasn't freezing onto anything. Mercy closed her eyes as she let the rain wash over her, relaxing as she did so. Megatron chuckled at her before saying, "You're going to get sick."

"Quit worrying and let me enjoy the rain."

"_Enjoy the rain,"_ he thought and then suddenly he got an idea. He had seen this on the internet somewhere and figured that it wouldn't hurt to try it.

_Don't tear me down for all I need_

Megatron got off of Mercy and stood. He took a couple steps back from her before he returned to his normal size. Mercy didn't notice as she kept her eyes closed and let the rain continue to poor over her. Megatron knew he could have left right now, but no…this was something he wanted to do. Soundlessly he transformed into his car mode, wishing his hood was higher but he would make do with what he had. He activated his holoform and walked up to Mercy, taking her by the hand and pulling her to her feet. She looked at him surprised that he was in his human form, but she knew she would take any form of him that he came to her in…well…except for the vehicle forms.

He didn't say anything as he lifted her in his arms and carried her over to his car mode. Megatron smirked as he set her against the hood and leaned down.

_Make my heart a better place_

His lips met hers and he kissed her with a fiery passion…he had to convince her how much he felt for her, how much he didn't want to leave her behind but he had no choice. He truly believed that they would both grow out of this emotion, that they would both learn to get along without the other and that it was only a matter of time…despite how painful it would be.

Megatron didn't want to think about it right now though as he pressed himself against her, deepening the kiss. He pressed his tongue against her lips, begging for an entrance. Slowly she parted her lips and he slid his tongue into her mouth. He ran his tongue over everything, trying to capture her flavor in his CPU so that he would never forget it.

Blindly he began tugging at her shirt, wanting it off of her. It wasn't helping that the rain was soaking her, causing the shirt to stick right to her form and making him want her all the more.

_Don't tear me down for all I need_

_Make my heart a better place_

Mercy had seen this played out in the movies; she had seen it in magazines, television ads…yet she had never thought it would be her in the situation. To be kissed in the rain as the person she loved the most shoved her up against the hood of his car, tearing at her shirt. And Megatron kissed with the intent of never to stop…she could feel it in is his kiss…and she wished it never would stop.

_Give me something I can believe_

_Don't tear it down, what's left of me_

And when Mercy began to shiver, Megatron knew it was time to stop because she was cold and he most certainly didn't want her getting sick. He pulled away from her panting; she 

struggled to find her breath as well. He helped her to her feet before he transformed back into his robot form, but remained about her size.

_Make my heart a better place_

"Mercy," he breathed as he held her tightly in his arms, "I'll stay one more day with you. Tomorrow I have to go, but you've got to know that you'll be alright without me."

She sighed heavily as she wrapped her arms around him, "I…I guess there's no stopping you. Let's just make the most of today."

"Right…but let's get you inside and out of those wet clothes."

She looked up at him as he cupped her face with hand. He kissed her lips lightly while thinking, "If only you knew just _how much_ you mean to me."

_Make my heart a better place._

Megatron lifted Mercy into his arms and carried her into the house. Once inside he set her on her feet and she immediately went off to get a dry pair of clothes and to dry her hair. Megatron waited in the living room for her, patiently, not wanting today to rush by. About thirty minutes later the android came out of the bathroom and wandered into the living room. She saw Megatron standing in front of the window and she watched him for a few moments as he gazed out the window watching as the rain melted the snow. He turned suddenly and saw her watching him and without a word he gestured for her to come to him. Mercy walked up to him and stopped, standing before him.

The decepticon leader looked Mercy over, trying to memorize her form. She crossed her arms and asked suddenly, "Just what are your duties on Cybertron?"

"I am leader of the decepticons; I have an army to maintain."

"How long have you been dead?"

"Fifteen years."

Mercy was a bit startled by that, knowing that she had been alive for only a year when he died. She still had her parents back then, she was still innocent back then…she wasn't anybody's enemy…and she was still her best friend.

Megatron noticed her mood dampen and slowly he asked, "Mercy…just what happened with your parent's?"

The android's eyes fell to the floor and uncrossed her arms. At first Megatron didn't think she was going to say anything but then she slowly and softly said, "They were in their last year of college and had been dating for about a year. My dad had always had a drinking problem, he started drinking alcohol when he was in high school and it was a habit he just couldn't drop. Right after they had graduated from the college my mom and dad got so drunk…things happened…and I was conceived. Though neither of them was prepared for a child, they decided to get married and raise me the best that they could…" She trailed off.

Megatron reached out and grasped one of her hands, stroking it gently. He knew this was hard for her, but it was something he wanted to know…something he felt he _needed_ to know.

And finally she continued, "They didn't get married until after I was born though."

"Why not before?" he asked confused.

She sighed heavily, "My father refused to have a fat bride."

"Oh."

"After they married they bought a small apartment and were struggling financially, trying to support themselves and me…but my dad soon formed his own sales business and it became an over night success. Money flowed in and my parents soon bought this house and moved out of the apartment. My dad employed my mother into the business and soon we had a bit more money coming in…but as I grew my parents had less and less time for me. They were constantly away on business trips trying to sell their products and merchandise. When they were home though, they would have such _awful_ arguments. My dad's drinking problem only got worse because of this and whenever I tried to talk to him he'd just ignore me or send me to my room. My mom tended to avoid me only because we were total strangers to each other. Finally…two years ago…they told me they were headed out on another business trip…but they never came back," she explained, "They only send me money through the mail so that I can get by."

Megatron sighed heavily and said, "You've done so much without them. If they were to come back right now I bet they'd be proud."

Mercy scoffed bitterly, "I don't want them to come back." And then she looked to the floor as she said in a calmer voice, "Ever since I realized that they weren't coming back I've always wanted to get out of this place. There's just too many painful memories…especially now…with everything that's gone on the last few months. I'll just have to keep looking for a way out though…somehow."

Megatron tried to ignore the pain that was seeping through his spark and coursing through his body. The utmost pity he had ever felt in his life was channeling through him…pity that he had for Mercy. He wanted to take her with him so bad…if she was trying to guilt him into it then it was working, but he had asked to know. The truth just hurt so much.

The decepticon leader turned back to the window, not to gaze out of it. Instead he removed a small device from his subspace and examined it in his hand briefly. This device had been in his subspace for vorns, he couldn't even remember when he placed it in his subspace or why. He just so happened to remember it now…at a time when he could use it. Megatron only hoped it would work. He turned it on, and to his surprise the small device did that much for him. He then turned and pointed the device at Mercy, who looked at him confused as to what the object in his hand was. He pressed a button on it and a blue beam shot out of the device. It scanned Mercy's image and when finished, a holographic image of Mercy was produced from the device. Megatron looked it over for a moment before saying, "Let's do another one."

Mercy smirked while crossing her arms, "I don't think so."

He grinned, "Keep that pose." And he snapped another holographic picture of her. He checked it real quick and saw it was perfect. He then turned the device off and returned it to his subspace.

"I never took you for the photography type."

"I just remembered I had that in there. I used to use that thing to document my enemies but stopped after awhile since just about every autobot out there is my enemy."

"You never told me about this whole war—

"It's far too complicated to explain," he said, "It's been raging for millions of years."

Mercy was shocked, "And still nobody has won?"

"There have been times of peace," the decepticon leader confessed, "But they've all come from decepticon failures…from _my_ failures."

"You…you always came back though, didn't you?"

"Only to be defeated again," he wanted to slam his fist into something but didn't want to cause any damage to Mercy's home.

Mercy saw how he had tightened his hand into a fist and gently she reached out and touched it, "Megatron…this time will be different. You're stronger now."

"I'll be weaker when I leave," he mumbled to himself as he turned to the window. Mercy made him stronger…and to leave her behind was like leaving behind part of himself.

Mercy felt slightly dejected that he had turned his back to her…she didn't hear what he had said though she was curious to know, even if it were something mean. She wouldn't ask him though because it wasn't meant for her to hear and she understood that. Unsure of what else to do though, Mercy stepped up beside him. Megatron watched her as she leaned against his side and slowly he wrapped an arm around her.

"What do you have left to fight for?" she asked softly hoping that question wouldn't offend him.

"The whole universe," he answered, "I'm just not sure how I'm going to go about conquering it now…there's no power source I can use."

"I…don't understand."

"I'll explain it some other time…when I have the time to tell you."

"But…you're leaving," she replied softly on the verge of tears, "And something tells me that you're…you're not coming back."

"Probably not…unless the battlefield shifts to earth again like it has so many times in the past. I was fighting on earth when you were just born," he explained, "I died when I got back to Cybertron…I managed to come back to life as a ghost but the dark energy was able to resurrect me into the living…but I was only killed again by Optimus Prime."

Mercy was silent, unsure of what to say until finally she said, "There must be a reason why you keep coming back. Why there's always a pathway back into the living after you die. You must be destined to rule the universe…one of these days."

He smirked, "It'll be nice if that day ever comes." And then he thought of something, "Mercy…if I should ever take high command of Cybertron, if not the universe…I want you there with me."

"I'll have no means of getting there."

"I'll come back for you."

"Would it be some sort of coronation ceremony?"

"Yes, perhaps, I'll have to plan it out if that day should ever come."

"I'd be glad to witness it then."

"Witness it? You're going to be part of it."

Mercy looked at him, "Part of it? Like…an usher or something?"

"No, you'll be honored as well."

She turned to him skeptically, "What do you mean?"

"For bringing me back into the living of course," he was ranting now, his dreams slipping off his tongue, "And when I am crowned Emperor of the Decepticons, High Commander of Cybertron…you'll be Empress."

Her jaw dropped, "Empress of the Decepticons…"

"Yes…and eternity shall be ours," he let his optics go offline and chuckled, "But it's all just a silly fantasy. It'll never come true. Millions of years have gone by and look how far I've gotten…absolutely nowhere."

Mercy closed her eyes briefly trying to hold back the tears. He hadn't meant any of the dreams he had just spoken…he hadn't meant a thing. And she couldn't help but ask, "But if it does come true?"

"Don't put your hopes on it."

"That wasn't what I—

"If it does come true…then the universe better prepare itself."

He truly hadn't meant a word of what he said. Mercy sighed heavily knowing that this heartbreak was going to be hell…or worse. Megatron looked down at her, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said in a strained voice and then cleared her throat only to remark softly; "It's nothing."

And she pulled out of his embrace. She turned away from him quickly so that he wouldn't have to see the tears on the verge from spilling from her eyes. And she breathed in the calmest voice she could muster, "I'll be…I'll be right back."

Megatron watched stunned as Mercy ran out of the house. He went over to a window that on looked the backyard and watched her as she ran into the forest. Something had upset her, he knew that much. And the raining had stopped for now, so he figured he would let her go and calm down. That was until he remembered something.

"_Oh slag,"_ he thought, _"The river."_

* * *

Mercy ran blindly, her emotions powering her and driving her along. The ground was slippery from the melted snow and the rain from earlier. She tried to run as carefully yet as quickly as she could, but neither was working out so well. Tree roots caused her to stumble here and there, mud slipped her up a bit and she would have to stop to catch her balance, but she kept going.

But her energy began to drain as well as her focus. And when she heard the river roaring and raging a short distance ahead of her, fright began to gnaw at her as well. She looked up as she neared the shoreline, not wanting to get too close because she was well aware of what had happened the last time she got to close. _"That river,"_ Mercy thought as she continued to run, _"It brought Megatron and I together even though it almost ripped us apart."_

Her heart hurt, it hurt so bad she thought it had shattered. And when a tree root suddenly caught her by the ankle and caused her to fall flat on her face her heartache prevented her from having the energy to get back up. She went to roll over but a slicing pain through her right ankle halted her efforts. She looked back only to see her ankle jammed ruthlessly between a rock and the tree root. Thinking quickly she summoned the fire into her hands and burned the root away and pulled her ankle free. Slowly she stood and went to take a step forward but pain ripped through her right ankle causing her leg to give out and she fell again…she stayed down this time, sobbing.

Mercy knew she couldn't get back to the house on her own, Megatron would leave and she'd be stuck out in the woods to ultimately die from freezing to death or falling victim to some sort of animal that lurked in the woods, some sort of animal that could rip her apart. She tried to summon Megatron through the telepathic link, but she only discovered that it was no longer there, that Megatron must have severed it when he went to leave earlier this morning.

All hope was gone…or at least that was how she felt. Mercy sat there because she couldn't do anything else…and finally she just laid back, closing her eyes. Tears rolled down her face even though her eyes were closed. Everything hurt…her ankle, her body, her heart. Everything that could have gone wrong had gone wrong, but that was her typical luck, she just wasn't used to it still.

If her life was ever to get better, she had to keep moving…and she knew that. Sighing, she wiped away her tears and opened her eyes. _"Get up,"_ she told herself, _"You can make it back to the house on your own, you're a big girl, don't forget that."_

Slowly she sat up and even slower she managed to climb back up to her feet and she leaned against a tree to keep her weight off her bad ankle. Mercy felt relieved for having accomplished that much…she just needed to get back to the house…somehow. Glancing back towards the river she saw a large stick near the edge of the river. If she could somehow hobble her way over there, without falling in the river, she could use that stick as a cane. She turned towards the river, ankle throbbing painfully. Mercy closed her eyes knowing that she had sprained it really good or that it was broken, either way she had to get that stick.

"Mercy Rosary LeCroix don't you _dare_ take one step towards that river!"

She watched elated and with passion as Megatron suddenly dipped down from the skies and landed roughly ten feet from her. His voice sent a shiver down her back; awing her and making her heart swell with want for his touch…even a gentle caress of his voice in her ear. He was mad, she could tell, for running away again, she knew she would have to suffer the consequences but for the moment she didn't care. He had come to her aid once again.

"Come here!" he bellowed.

"I…I can't," she replied shakily.

He crossed his arms, "I said come here, you have two legs, now use them."

Slowly she took a step forward, with her left foot first. Bracing herself for the pain she brought her right foot forward and cringed as a delicious blast of pain crawled up through her nerves. She was back on her bottom in an instant, not wanting to get up. Shamed, Mercy looked away from Megatron.

She didn't notice his expression drop as he uncrossed his arms and immediately went to her aid. He kneeled beside her asking, "What did you do?"

"I fell," she answered, "I hurt my ankle."

"Which one?"

She pointed and Megatron shifted so he could get a better look at her ankle. Without much thought, he began removing her shoe but stopped when she suddenly cried out, "Stop! That hurts!"

Carefully he tried to remove it again but had to ignore Mercy's plea this time in order to remove it. He then slid the sock off and pushed up her pant leg. He could tell from the way it was bent unnaturally that she had done something to move one of her ankle joints out of place. The only way to fix it was by popping it back in…an extremely painful process, but one that needed to be done.

He offlined his optics for a moment before he looked back to Mercy and said, "You popped a joint out of place…I need to put it back in…but it's going to hurt _really_ bad."

Mercy sighed heavily, "How long is it going to take?"

"It's going to be the worst ten seconds of your life...and it's not going to feel pleasant afterwards either."

She started pulling her leg away from him but he grasped it firmly, "Mercy it needs to be done."

"N-Not out here," she stammered, trying to delay the pain as long as possible, "The cold will only make the pain worse."

"Alright then…we'll go back to your house," he said and proceeded to open a dimension gate. After throwing her shoe and her sock into the dimension gate, Megatron lifted Mercy in his arms and carried her through the dimension gate.

They ended up in her bedroom, the sock and shoe on the floor. The decepticon leader set Mercy over on her bed and instructed her to lie down, which she did. Megatron then firmly grasped her injured ankle and Mercy took the pillow that was beneath her head and moved it so that it was covering her face.

"Do you want me to tell you when I'm going to do it?" Megatron asked.

"No, just—'' and she cried out into her pillow as she felt Megatron apply a harsh pressure before twisting the joint back into place.

It had hurt so badly, it was like knives had been stabbed into her ankle and then they burst into flames…but it felt a bit better now…if only a bit. Megatron lifted the pillow from her face suddenly and asked, "You okay?"

"I think I'll live," she replied as he set the pillow back under her head.

He smiled, "Good. I should probably tell you though it's going to be a little while before you can walk on it again. After an injury like that, the joint locks into place to recover. You won't be able to move your foot at all until it heals and unlocks."

"How long is that going to take?" she asked as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"A week at the least for you, probably closer to two weeks if you don't stay off it," he responded and then asked, "Mercy, because of all that you have done for me…you must take my mark…the mark of the decepticons."

"You mean…this?" she questioned pointing to his insignia.

"Yes. It'll hurt, but nowhere near as much as fixing your ankle did."

Mercy thought about it for a second, "Alright."

"You're going to have to take your shirt off," he said.

She smirked, "You were the one tugging at my shirt earlier trying to get it off. You can take it off."

The decepticon leader returned the smirk, "Mercy…if I take your shirt off…you may lose a few more articles of clothing."

The android sat up, narrowing her eyes at him. She shot him an 'I dare you' gaze before she leaned forward and captured his lips with hers. The kiss started off slowly at first, but when Mercy slid a hand over his cockpit and began to lightly trace the designs that were in the glass Megatron couldn't take it. He circled his hands around her waist, fingers fumbling along the edge of her shirt. He broke the kiss momentarily as he slid her shirt off and tossed it aside. His lips found hers again and he pressed her down onto the bed.

Megatron's chest cavity was aching, wanting to be activated so that his spark could merge with hers. But she wouldn't allow it…she wasn't ready, and he understood that no matter how much it disappointed him. Slowly though he slid a hand onto her chest and suddenly it began to glow. He pressed his hand onto her chest and whispered to her as he branded her with his mark, "I don't know why you ran away earlier…but whatever I said or whatever I did to upset you I apologize for. You mean a lot to me…more than anyone or anything…you made me feel something I've never felt before. And I thank you Mercy, for everything."

The glowing stopped and he pulled his hand away and resumed the kiss. A freshly branded decepticon insignia gleamed on Mercy's chest.

* * *

They had fallen asleep like that, Megatron holding Mercy tightly in his arms. She had never gotten her shirt back…and she had one sock on while the other was off, but neither of them cared, they just had wanted to bask in each other's presence, in each other's love.

Mercy opened her eyes when a beam of light suddenly hit them. She groaned a bit and went to snuggle back into Megatron's embrace only to reach out and find he was not there. She snapped her eyes open only to see he really was gone. Frantic, she sat up but a piece of paper on the pillow suddenly caught her eye. Blinking back the tears she picked up and read it, seeing it was the poem she had wrote about being a fallen angel…and inscribed at the bottom were the words:

_Mercy is beautiful, Mercy is divine_

_Mercy gives me peace of mind_

_Mercy is the spirit of the flame_

_Never one to play by the rules of another's game_

_Mercy is an angel fallen from the skies_

_Into the arms of a devil who hates, kills, and lies_

_But this devil who hates fell hard and fell fast_

_Into a love he is sure he cannot leave in the past_

_So now this devil who is reborn and revived_

_And extremely thankful to be alive_

_Blesses upon you this final adieu_

_My life has been changed because of you_

_My heart could not bear to hear you say goodbye_

_And I hope that this will not make you cry_

_But for your love I will always be thirsty_

_Because I understand the quality of __**my**__ Mercy_

The poem hadn't been well written…but it had touched her heart in such a way that she couldn't stop the tears as they cascaded down her cheeks. It was only as her heart poured out that she felt the splitting headache dawn upon her. And suddenly she felt a knot build in her abdomen. It was all she could do to get into the bathroom with her sore ankle, but she made it in time and vomited into the toilet. She sat back against the wall after she finished purging and suddenly diagnostics flashed through her CPU.

Virus detected…

* * *

Okay I have to go to work now...and I wrote the poem so don't report me. Please review!


	23. The Depths of Her Broken Heart

Yep, here's the next chappie. It's nowhere's near as long as the last two, but nonetheless here it is. Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing, I appreciate it. XD I hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Three: The Depths of Her Broken Heart**

"Officer Andrews to dispatch, I am at the LeCroix residence."

When the police department had first been notified by the school that Mercy had missed a full week of classes, they weren't sure what to think. The school officials explained to them that everyday of Mercy's absence they had called wondering where she was only to receive no answer and have to hang up. Hoping that nothing had happened to the girl, they requested that an officer be sent to her home to check on her. Agreeing, the local law enforcement obtained a warrant to enter her home and take a look around and see if Mercy was there. And Officer Andrews, one of the men who had first questioned Mercy when she was suspected of the murder, was sent to her home to make sure everything was in order.

"Alright, proceed with caution."

Andrews got out of his car, briefly stretching as he closed the door to his car and headed to the door of the home. When he was standing before it, he knocked loudly since he couldn't find a doorbell. He then paused, waiting for someone to answer the door. Sighing, the officer knocked a few more times only to produce no such luck. He then tried the doorknob only to discover that the door was locked. Left with no other option, Officer Andrews went on with breaking the door open and slowly proceeded inside.

"Mercy?" he called out, "Mercy are you in here?"

He waited for a response but got nothing. Quickly glancing around the living room and kitchen of the home, Andrews saw that Mercy was not in either of the two rooms and proceeded down the hallway. The first room he came upon was an office type place, and looking inside he saw that Mercy was not in there either. Continuing down the hall he soon came across a room where the door was closed. He rapped his knuckles on it asking gently, "Mercy are you in there?"

A small groan caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stick up as he opened the door only to reveal Mercy inside, collapsed on the cold bathroom floor. Andrews quickly went to her aid and gently rolled her onto her back, "Mercy, what happened? How long have you been here?"

"I dunno," she slurred, eyes barely open.

He put a hand to her forehead only to flinch, "My God, you're burning up!" Quickly he pulled out his two-way radio and barked into it, "Andrews to dispatch, I am in immediate need of an ambulance!"

"Understood, an ambulance is on its way."

The officer returned his two-way radio to his belt and asked, "Mercy, when was the last time you ate something?"

"I…don't remember."

"What about drank something?"

"I…don't know."

"Well, you're going to be alright, there's an ambulance coming."

"No…I want to stay here."

He stroked her cheek gently seeing the pain and discomfort in her eyes as well as the tears building behind them, "Everything is going to be okay."

"I want to die," she moaned before whispering harshly, "Everything hurts too much."

"Hush Mercy, you're very sick, you need to save your energy."

She closed her eyes and sighed heavily. She had been in the bathroom for so long, days had gone by, though she wasn't sure how many. Her systems were completely drained of energy; she had been hovering in and out of stasis throughout the week. She had emptied out anything that had been inside her "stomach" during that week as well, and now she was suffering from dry heaves. Her ankle was still locked in place, swollen and sore, even though she spent as much time off it as she could. But above all that, her heart hurt the most. It was still broken and lying in shattered pieces throughout the inside of her chest. If a doctor were to x-ray her, they'd most definitely find the pieces of her heart but even they couldn't put it back together again.

Officer Andrews heard the sirens from the ambulance and he looked to Mercy saying, "Hold on, I'll be right back."

She didn't say anything as she opened her eyes and watched him leave the bathroom. "No…I don't want to go…" she breathed as she slowly sat up, painfully wincing as she did so. Using the wall, she gradually managed to get to her feet. She hobbled a few steps forward, tears leaking from her eyes as pain traveled through her injured ankle and dizziness started gnawing at her. "Stupid virus," she cried softly, "Leave me alone."

Just as she got to the doorway she met the officer. A whimper escaped her lips as she looked down to the floor, the EMT's behind him with a stretcher. "Mercy you shouldn't be on your feet," exclaimed the officer softly.

She took a step back from him, bottom lip quivering as the EMT's came over to her and escorted her over to the stretcher where they helped her onto it. After strapping her down onto it, they quickly wheeled her out to the ambulance. Immediately they began testing her blood pressure and taking her temperature. It was an unsettling 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

It was one of the worst rides of Mercy's life as they quickly took her to the hospital. Once they got there though, things didn't get much better. Mercy was immediately taken to the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital where a doctor had an IV waiting for her. Taking her arm he tried to press the needle into the vein on her hand, but had no such luck as the needle suddenly bent. He raised his eyebrows, "Get me a thicker needle."

Mercy groaned, "Let me go home."

"No Mercy," piped up another doctor tending to her, "The hospital is where you need to be. You're very, very sick."

"I don't care."

"You're staying here."

"No!" she shouted suddenly, startling the nurses and doctors that were tending to her, "I don't have to be here! I don't want to be!"

"Mercy, calm down! This is for your own good!"

"My own good?" she wailed, "Like hell it is! I want to go home."

Two of the doctors exchanged glances before one finally said, "We don't have time to deal with this. Bring some restraints and the anesthesiologist. She needs to temporarily be sedated."

"Just leave me alone," growled Mercy weakly, "I don't want to be here."

The nurse came with the restraints and the anesthesiologist all too quickly. Mercy was restrained to the bed despite how she struggled not to be. She was too weak to put up a fight against anyone. She squeezed her eyes closed and bit her bottom lip as the anesthesiologist took out a syringe, the needle thicker and longer than usual and normal, and she grimaced as she felt it go under her metallic flesh. "Please don't kill me…" she breathed.

The doctors exchanged glances, not sure what Mercy was thinking they would do to her. However, she was afraid that they might discover her well kept secret, that she wasn't a human. That was why the first needle had failed to enter her flesh. And the anesthetic that had been given to her…if that were to harm her or make the virus worse…they would start to suspect something. If the potential IV they gave her made her worse…wouldn't they start to assume that something wasn't normal with her? And if they were to x-ray her, would her circuitry be revealed?

"I can't stay here," she breathed, exhaustion and darkness seizing her, "It's not safe…"

And she drifted into an unsettling slumber.

* * *

The first thing Mercy heard when her systems came back online was the annoying ticking of the clock that was hanging on the wall in her room. Looking at it she saw it was nearly eight o'clock that evening. She sighed figuring her systems had temporarily gone back into stasis while she slept. The girl didn't feel much better, she still felt like she had been hit by a car about five hundred times. She still felt like she was going to throw up at any minute. And her heart still ached and throbbed like there was no tomorrow. And it was still all _his_ fault.

"Did those blood tests reveal anything about what's wrong with Mercy?" came a voice suddenly not too far from her door.

Blood tests? They took a sample of her blood?! Mercy felt panic sear through her as she strained to hear the other voice's muffled reply, but she couldn't make it out. Her fingers fumbled against the bed sheets that had been laid over her. If they took a blood sample then…then that would reveal everything. She didn't have human blood anymore, she had oil and mech fluids…oh she needed to get out of there before they discovered anything else out…even though there wasn't much left for them to discover.

Glancing around she noticed she was in a hospital gown, during her sleep the nurses must have changed her outfit. Mercy knew she couldn't runaway with that on, she'd be an obvious target when people came looking for her. And to her surprise, the restraints had been removed.

Looking over she spotted a chair next to her bed and on it were her clothes. She sighed with relief knowing she had chosen a good day to wear a hoodie. Slowly though, she got up from the bed and made her way over to her clothes. Once she had them, she went into the bathroom and quickly stripped from her hospital gown. Wincing, she tugged on her jeans and then her shirt, followed by her hoodie. She proceeded to tuck her hair into it and pull the hood up so that nobody could see her hair; it'd be an obvious giveaway. And even more slowly however, she slipped on her shoes and tied them.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Mercy wasn't exactly sure how this was going to go down. She sighed heavily knowing that she would have to try, because she couldn't afford to stay here any longer. Leaving her hospital gown behind, Mercy opened the bathroom door just ajar and peeked out to make sure nobody was in her room. Luckily, nobody was and she walked out, as normally as she could so that she wouldn't attract attention. Going over to the door to her room, she peeked out yet again. There was a doctor at the end of the hallway, but he was busy helping another patient. At the other end of the hallway was an elevator, as well as the receptionist's desk. Sighing, she figured she'd go that way, it was closer, and if she could make it to the elevator…

Mercy hastily left the room, still attempting to walk without a limp, but she couldn't help a slight one since her ankle wouldn't move. She didn't bother to glance at the receptionist who was busy typing on a computer as she walked by and over to the elevator. Pressing the down arrow, she patiently waited for the doors to open so she could get out of the hospital. Every second that passed was like an eternity…and finally there was a ding which caused Mercy to look up. She watched as the doors opened, only to reveal a couple of the doctors that had been tending to her. She felt her mech fluids freeze as she refused allowing a surprised expression to take over her face. Not sure what else to do, she stepped aside.

One of the doctors smiled at her, "Excuse us ma'am." And they exited the elevator and started walking towards her room.

"_Shit,"_ Mercy thought as she quickly got on the elevator and had the doors close. She pressed the button for the first floor and waited in total anxiety for the doors to open up. When they finally did, she half expected to see doctors and security guards' waiting outside for her, but nobody was there. Glancing around she realized she was in the lobby on the first floor. She saw the door to her escape and hastily walked over to it…and out of the hospital.

_She is running a hundred miles an hour  
__In the wrong direction_

She sighed heavily, it felt like such a relief to just make it out, but now that she was out, she had to find somewhere to stay. It was like the murder all over again, she couldn't go home, she couldn't let anybody find her…the only thing that was different was that she didn't have Megatron there to protect her.

"_Megatron,"_ she thought, wanting to think his name angrily but she couldn't. She still loved him; she still loved him way too much. She wanted to toss him aside and say that she hated him, but it would be nothing but a lie. She only hated how she didn't hate him; she hated how she still loved him, with all the little pieces of her broken heart.

_She is trying but the canyon's ever widening  
__In the depths of her cold heart_

Mercy had just left the parking lot and started walking down a sidewalk that led out of town just as she heard the alarms go off at the hospital. _"They know now,"_ she thought as she quickened her pace despite the stabs of pain she had to ignore and not wince at. When the road was clear, she crossed it and started walking up a street that led away from the hospital, she knew that she couldn't stop walking, despite the dizziness and the nausea and the pain that was burning her and begging her to stop, she had to put as much distance as she could between her and the hospital as she could. But most of all she had to get out of the town, before someone found her and reported her to the police.

_So she sets out on another misadventure just to find  
__She's another two years older  
__And she's three more steps behind_

The girl turned up another side street and kept walking, not daring to look behind her. She wanted to get off the sidewalks; she wanted to get out of the town. She needed a car…she needed Megatron…

"_Just stop thinking about him. He obviously didn't care enough about you to stay or take you with him. And you're strong, you don't need him…" _she told herself as she starting sobbing softly, _"You don't need him…"_

Ignoring the pain in her ankle, she started running down the street and she watched as houses flew by her in a blur. She had just made it to the edge of town when she spotted a church…she could afford to rest for a few minutes, she needed to. And she quickly ran up onto the steps and sat there, sobbing.

_Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?  
__Or does anybody even know she's going down today?  
__Under the shadow of our steeple  
__With all the lost and lonely people  
__Searching for the hope that's tucked away in you and me  
__Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?_

"Why?!" she shouted suddenly, even though no one could hear her. She looked up towards the heavens, scanning the stars with her eyes, knowing that anyone of them could be planet Cybertron as she continued to shout, "Why did you leave me behind like this?!"

It had been for her safety, or so he had said, to protect her from the enemies that he had that would come after her if they were to ever find out that she was his weakness. But did he really think that they both could leave behind everything that had happened? Did he really think that they could both move on and forget this terribly powerful feeling that they both had for each other?

But why did he have to leave her behind like everybody else had in her life? Her parents, her only friend, and now…him?

_She is yearning for the shelter and affection  
__That she never found at home_

She wiped away the tears from her eyes, feeling like she was about to throw up. She tried desperately to squish that feeling away but was helpless to do so and quickly leaned over the railing as her stomach purged, but yet again it was nothing but dry heaves. Mercy sat back, panting the pain away, or at least trying to.

"Oh Megatron," she moaned, "I need you the most right now…but your not here, and this virus isn't going away."

_She is searching for a hero to ride in  
__To ride in and save the day_

She sighed heavily…if Megatron was planning on coming back he would have done so by now. It had been seven days…seven days of torture and suffering for her, but on Megatron's end, heck she had absolutely no idea. She figured he was probably having parties and the what not with his wonderful decepticon army that he planned on using to take over the universe. He probably had forgotten all about her already while she sat back here, on the steps to some old church, her life withering away.

_And in walks her prince charming and he knows just what to say  
__Momentary lapse of reason and she gives herself away_

Mercy looked back up to the stars feeling heartbroken and helpless. She wanted Megatron to come back so he would hopefully sweep her off her feet. She wanted him to take away all her pain like he had done so many times before. But no…he was forever gone, and forever never coming back.

She had been left completely alone, alone to carry on with her life somehow and hope for the best. She had been left to move on and pretend that the man, the machine that had made her who she was today never even existed.

And it was so hard…

_Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?  
__Or does anybody even know she's going down today?  
__Under the shadow of our steeple  
__With all the lost an lonely people  
__Searching for the hope that's tucked away in you and me  
__Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?_

She glanced back up to the starry night sky one last time as she tugged on her shirt, the way Megatron had done so many times trying to get it off of her. On her chest she bore her own decepticon insignia, a permanent scar that would always show how she had met the infamous leader of the decepticons.

_If judgment looms under every steeple  
__If lofty glances from lofty people  
__Can't see past her scarlet letter  
__And we've never even met her_

The girl was more than sure the doctors or nurses, whoever had put the hospital gown on her had seen the decepticon insignia that she bore proudly. She didn't care what they thought of it. She didn't care to know what they thought of it. It was a mark she had gladly taken from the person that she loved the most.

A person who she hoped would one day conquer the universe and return to her…but until that day, she would just have to wait.

_If judgment looms under every steeple  
__If lofty glances from lofty people  
__Can't see past her scarlet letter  
__And we've never even met her_

And she had an eternity…her entire lifetime to wait.

_Never even met her…_

Her tears ceased and she figured she should get going before the police or something came. She stood and nearly had a heart attack though when she heard a police siren blast behind her. Mercy knew she was caught, and she was too sick to run any further. Glumly she sat and watched as a police car pulled up to the steps of the church where an officer got out. She didn't bother to look at him as he came up and sat down beside her asking, "I take it you're the infamous Mercy LeCroix."

"Yes sir."

"You mind telling me why you ran away from the hospital?"

_Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?  
__Or does anybody even know she's going down today?  
__Under the shadow of our steeple  
__With all the lost and lonely people  
__Searching for the hope that's tucked away in you and me_

"I don't want to be there sir."

From the way her lip quivered and from her pallor he could tell she was very sick, "Mercy…they're just trying to help you back there. They just want you to get better."

"I understand that. But because of all that has happened in the last couple months…I just want to be left alone."

"That's suicidal Mercy."

"At least I'd be happy."

He sighed heavily, "Come on Mercy, I have orders to take you back to the hospital."

She didn't say anything as she pressed her lips together into a tight line. Obviously she didn't have a choice in the matter and even more obviously she didn't stand a chance against him if she attempted to run. Slowly she pulled back her hood, allowing her purple locks of hair to drape around her shoulders. They always fell into the wrong place, her hair was never perfect, it was always messy, yet Megatron never seemed to care. He seemed to prefer it that way…

"_Don't think about him,"_ she told herself yet again.

"The sooner you go back Mercy," spoke the officer, "The sooner you can get out."

"I know…" she sighed heavily as she stood, "I just don't know what they can do for me that I can't do myself." And without waiting for the officer to say anything she walked over to his car.

The officer blinked a couple times, watching as she painfully limped along, and then stood himself. He walked over to the door she had gone to and let her in. He then got behind the wheel and when everyone was buckled in, he drove off back to the hospital.

The officer stopped at the ER where a bunch of the doctors and nurses were waiting for Mercy so that they could immediately get her back inside and under the proper care. Mercy huffed as she saw them coming with a stretcher. The officer opened her door and she stepped out, just as a wave of dizziness caught her and she started to fall forward, but the trained officer quickly caught her and held her up until the doctors and nurses got over to her and placed her on the stretcher.

One of the doctors eyed her warily as he wheeled over an IV and mercilessly stuck the needle through her flesh and into one of her veins. Mercy grimaced as she felt an icy and cold liquid travel through her arm and soon it died away. She felt disgusted by the way she was being treated, she felt like an experiment, but she was helpless as they wheeled her back into the hospital, and into the same room she had escaped from hours before.

After the doctors and nurses made sure she was adjusted to her room once again, and after they made sure she was tightly restrained to the bed, they began fizzling out of the room. That was until another doctor came in. He walked over to Mercy's bedside and asked her, "When was the last time you ate something?"

"I don't remember."

"Are you hungry?"

"No."

"Let me rephrase myself, you need to eat."

"Sir, I'm not hungry."

He shook his head, "Bring in the tube, she's not willingly going to eat."

"The tube?" Mercy whimpered but nobody replied.

The doctor was handed a freaky looking tube, one Mercy definitely didn't like. And he instructed her to open her mouth, but the girl shook her head. The doctor got a frustrated look on his face, "Mercy, do you want to starve to death?"

"N-No," she stammered, but the second she opened her mouth the doctor immediately seized the opportunity to place the tube inside and force it down the back of her throat to her "stomach." Tears leaked from Mercy's eyes as he slowly pushed the tube down. It was all she could do to keep herself from throwing the tube back up as they slowly placed some mashed up assortment of food into the tube where it slid down and into her "stomach."

When the doctor had finished his dirty work, he removed the tube and watched as Mercy wiped away the tears from her eyes, pain and anger burning behind them. She knew her body wouldn't accept the food as she felt her abdomen suddenly knot and a terrible feeling surface inside of her. It was all she could do to lean over the side of the bed and vomit onto the floor. When it was all over, the doctor was still looking at her disgusted, Mercy with an utmost look of pain on her face as she closed her eyes and laid back mumbling, "Don't do this to me…he wouldn't have…he is evil…and he still wouldn't have."

"Mercy? Mercy what are you talking about?"

_Does anybody hear her? Does anybody see?  
__Does anybody even know she's going down today?  
__Under the shadow of our steeple  
__With all the lost and lonely people  
__Searching for the hope that's tucked away in you and me  
__Does anybody hear her? Does anybody see?_

"He beat me sure, he left me behind, but he still cared, unlike you."

The doctors and the nurses in the room exchanged glances before another doctor finally stated, "She's delusional, she needs to be transported to another hospital immediately, we don't have the right kind of equipment to treat her here."

Another doctor nodded, "I'll get on the phone with a hospital down in Syracuse right away." And he proceeded to leave the room.

"He cares…he cares…" Mercy kept on repeating, eyelids flickering open and closed.

A few minutes later the doctor came back in and said, "Alright, they have room for her at St. Joseph's Health Center, we'll transport her by helicopter."

Immediately the doctors and nurses prepared Mercy for her transport to St. Joseph's and when she was ready to go, they wheeled her out to the helicopter landing and take off area where a helicopter was already waiting. She was taken on the helicopter and it wasn't long before it took off…Mercy sedated the entire way.

When she woke, she was aware of the bleeping and humming of machinery around her. Her eyes half opened and she saw she was in a dark room. There wasn't an IV hooked to her, just a heart rate monitor, as well as an oxygen mask. She wasn't sure what the mask was for, unless she had slipped into stasis again and stopped breathing, worrying the doctors. Her eyes were too tired to continue looking around though, and she laid back, closing them, allowing sleep to come back to her.

She didn't know where she was, but this time she was all alone.

"Oh Megatron…" she barely breathed.

_He is running a hundred miles an hour  
__In the wrong direction…_

So...the song is Does Anybody Hear Her by Casting Crowns, as well, it belongs to them and not to me. Anywho...how Megatron is coping will be revealed in the next chappie. Until then, please review!

* * *


	24. For Eternity

Here I am busily trying to update all my stories before school starts (which is two weeks from this Wednesday). Bleh school, it's my senior year though, I guess I got that to look forward to. Anyway, here's chapter 24, I hope you enjoy it, this story will be ending soon.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Four: For Eternity**

He wasn't sure how much time had gone by, all he knew was that it had been well over a week, well over a week of utter and terrible torture upon his spark. Megatron wasn't sure if he had ever experienced so much pain in his life; pain that flowed from the spark and channeled through his circuits, spreading like a wildfire and a deadly disease throughout his system, making his whole chassis hurt and throb like he had just been mortally wounded on the battlefield, like he had just had his spark carved out of him and stomped upon until nothing but little shattered and broken shards remained. Had it really only been a week and a few days? It felt like an eternity had already gone by, an eternity of such pain and sorrow that Megatron's CPU was spinning from its inability to comprehend the disabling pain. He had never expected anguish and agony of this degree, but Mercy had warned him, and it was a warning he had not heeded, out of his own stubborn, selfish, and foolish pride.

Things had looked glorious when Megatron first returned to Cybertron. He was easily able to recruit Thundercracker, Thunderblast, Ransack, and Crumplezone back under his wing, though they certainly weren't good enough to conquer a planet along the rest of the universe with. So for a couple days he secretly hid, not allowing any word of his revival to reach the autobots, and while he hid he recruited more decepticon soldiers and gathered information about the autobots, planning an attack of massive proportions as he did so. And by the time he was ready, he had Skywarp, Shockwave, and after much debate and stress, Starscream, on his side as well. When Megatron had first learned that Starscream wanted to rejoin his ranks, he wasn't sure what to think. But after seeing how desperate he was for an army, and knowing that if he permitted Starscream back into his ranks that he would also acquire the services of Sideways and Soundwave as well, he decided to go for it, but he would be _very_ cautious around the mech.

But Megatron was more than shocked to learn that Jetfire was the one who bore the title of High Commander of Cybertron and that his arched nemesis, Optimus Prime, was off building space bridges with most of the elite autobots in the far reaches of the universe. And as all this data was presented to Megatron, he realized that he couldn't have come back at a better time, a time where Cybertron was completely defenseless to his power and might.

And he had attacked.

The autobots were stunned into defeat at his presence, he had been dead for fifteen years, and to suddenly see him back again—their CPUs couldn't fathom it. And within twenty-four hours, Megatron had managed to take control over a quarter of Cybertron.

But since that battle a few days ago, Megatron had done absolutely nothing. He sat in his throne room, planning and scheming his next move, he had received word that Optimus was on his way to Cybertron, but it would still be another week or so before he arrived since he and the rest of the autobots were so far away. Megatron had been making arrangements for his next battle, to intercept the fleet of autobot ships before they could make it to Cybertron, but they had to locate them first, something Starscream was in the process of doing.

He hadn't been aware of the heartache he felt until after the battle, when the glory and thrill of victory had faded away from his circuits. When his services weren't required, Megatron sat alone in either his quarters or his throne, unmoving, expressionless, and not talking. And he would sit there and think about _her_, the one who had caused him to feel like this, and he hated himself for leaving her behind. He hated how much he missed her and how much he wanted her back, if only he could see her, smell her, hear her, touch her, _taste_ her one more time, because the last time had not been enough.

Megatron had left her behind for her safety, he didn't want to run the risk of something happening to her if he had brought her here, but he couldn't stand not knowing what was happening to her on earth. What if scenarios began running like wildfire through his CPU: What if something happens to Mercy? What if she gets lost somewhere, somehow? Or what if she gets hurt and is left stranded dying somewhere? What if she falls into that river again? What if they find Travis Chase not guilty? _I wanted to protect her, but how can I when I don't even know what's happening to her?_

He knew he was driving himself mad, but he couldn't help it. And his troops were well-aware of his depression. Thunderblast had been the first one to try and cheer him up, offering herself for a night of exquisite pleasure, but he refused. Not only did he not want to betray Mercy, but he could hardly stomach the thought of their bodies entwining together in lustful passion, it made gears in his abdomen churn with disgust and abhorrence.

So he had resorted to the only thing that he could think of to take his painful heartache away, and that was drinking. At first he only drank a little, only a couple cubes of high-grade energon that worked well in momentarily releasing him from his pain while he was awake. But soon, the pain only got worse and he began to drink more and more to try and squish it away and numb it out of his chest and body, but it wasn't working, no matter how much he drank or how drunk he got. He began dreaming about Mercy every single time he recharged, dreams that would start out so pleasant but only result in him awaking violently from a terrible, terrible nightmare.

He was so afraid that he would lose her when she was already lost, and he was terrified for her, he was terrified to sleep, and he longed for her…so much. Megatron was on the verge of insanity and isolated himself from everyone, leaving Starscream in charge while he tried to recover, but couldn't.

* * *

The decepticon leader sat at his desk, the only light in his room coming from a small, dimly lit light above his desk, as well as the holographic image he had displayed of Mercy. His optics gazed upon it for what seemed like the millionth time that day alone. Empty cubes of high-grade energon were scattered about his living office and living quarters, on the floor, on various shelves and countertops, and a half drunken one lay on his desk, waiting to be finished.

"Oh Mercy…" he breathed in his drunken stupor as he lifted a hand to touch the image, only to have it pass straight through. He slammed his fist back down on his desk, and then after a few moments, he calmly reached for the half-empty cube. Grasping it, he raised it to his lips without hesitation and drank what was left in one quick swallow, wincing as the energon burned its way down through him.

He looked over at the image of Mercy, only to feel the pain still swelling and pulsing inside of him. Bitterly he tossed the empty cube aside and reached for another one just as there was a knock on his door.

"Permission to enter sir," sounded a muffled yet raspy voice.

Megatron knew it was Starscream, but he didn't say anything as he rested his head against a fist. He knew he was leader of the decepticons and had duties to attend to, and he very well knew that he couldn't spend the rest of his days wallowing in a heartache either. At some point he knew he would have to get up and resume his life…but not now, not when his wound was still open and bleeding.

"Megatron you stubborn fool let me in this instant! I, as well as the rest of the troops, have noticed your…depressing behavior as of late and it's high time we got to the bottom of it," Starscream stated, clearly impatient, "If you don't let me in I'll break this door down."

"Enter," Megatron ushered in a muffled, unenthusiastic groan.

The door slowly hissed open, light flooded into the room, but Megatron hardly noticed it as he stared down at his desk, his face expressionless, emotionless.

"By Primus's spark…sir, I've seen you depressed before but _never_ to this degree," Starscream stated as he walked into the room, the door closing behind him, "Just what is your malfunction this time?"

Megatron didn't say anything and Starscream pursed his lips to the side before saying, "I hate to play psychiatrist with you…but I really can't figure out what has you so depressed. You control part of Cybertron and are well on the way to controlling all of it." And the second in command waited yet again for a response from the decepticon leader, but he didn't get one. Frustrated, Starscream exclaimed, "Don't give me the silent treatment sir. I promise that whatever is discussed here I won't pass on to anyone else."

"And how can I trust you'll keep that promise?"

"You have my word sir," Starscream replied looking to the holographic image that Megatron had displayed on his desk, "Is it about her?"

Megatron's optics danced over the holographic image as he remarked, quietly, "It is."

"A stupid flesh bag has you feeling this way?!" responded the second in command shocked.

"She's the one who brought me back to life!" Megatron shouted back, obviously angry.

"So what happened to make you depressed? Clearly, as unbelievable as it is, you developed feelings for her and something didn't work out."

"I left her behind on earth."

"Why?"

"She's safer there; at least that's what I want to believe."

"Why don't you just bring her here, for your sake and ours?"

"I can't bring her here, I can't look weak in front of you and the rest of my men, I am the leader of the decepticons, I am not supposed to love."

Starscream snorted, "Whatever made you believe a foolish thing such as that?"

Megatron didn't say anything as Starscream continued, "Sure you're the heartless leader of the decepticons, but that doesn't mean you _can't _feel love. Heck, I'm surprised you haven't fallen in love before now. It's quite acceptable for you to take a mate Megatron, other decepticons have and they weren't scorned for their actions."

Megatron sighed heavily and Starscream growled, "Oh quit acting so pathetic, Megatron! Just accept the fact that you've fallen in love and go back to earth and get your precious mate before something _does_ happen to her. You and I both know that she's safer here where you can have her under your constant visual. You're driving yourself crazy for no reason. And if you're worried about looking weak, well, just remember that love is the greatest weakness a person can have, even you Megatron."

Megatron sat up in his chair and rested his hands on his desk. He knew he needed his Mercy…he needed her so much. And Starscream was right. He may be the leader of the decepticons but there wasn't a rule anywhere that said he couldn't love or take a mate.

"I have to get to earth," he breathed suddenly and he stood up from his desk so fast that he knocked his chair over backwards, startling Starscream.

After he regained his composure his second in command stated, "Well, I'm glad you finally came around."

"Starscream old friend, take charge of the decepticons while I am gone, I don't know when I'll be back but I'll try not to be gone too long," Megatron said hurriedly, "If you should happen to locate the autobots, notify me. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir, just try not to be gone too long, we don't need the rest of the troops growing restless."

Megatron nodded, "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you Starscream." And he opened up a dimension gate. Without bothering to hear Starscream's reply, he disappeared through it.

* * *

The poor 'con, who earned his living selling bond mate bracelets nearly had a spark attack when he saw a dimension gate open and none other than the leader of the decepticons step out. Immediately the 'con saluted his leader saying, "Megatron, what a surprise, m-may I help you sir?"

"Yes, I need a couple of bond bracelets, and make this fast, I'm in a hurry."

"You mean you…you found a mate?"

"I did not come here to discuss my love life, just show me what you have."

And hastily the mech stepped behind his counter and pulled out his finest bond bracelets, knowing that the leader of the decepticons would not settle for anything but the best. Megatron browsed over them before a set of bond bracelets caught his optic. One was just a regular platinum band, obviously meant for the male in the relationship, the other had a platinum but it was adorned with a large amethyst surrounded by black diamonds, reminding him of Mercy. The decepticon leader pointed at them, "Those are the ones I want."

The mech nodded and produced them from the case, gently placing them inside a black velvet box. Megatron watched him as he did so and then asked, "How much are they?"

The 'con told him the price, they were highly expensive, but Megatron knew that they were worth it. After purchasing the bracelets, Megatron threw in another large sum of money saying, "Take that money, and don't you dare say a word about this to anyone."

The mech nodded, "Thank you sir, and my lips are sealed."

"Good," he said as he took the black box and placed it in his subspace. He opened another dimension gate and quickly stepped through it.

* * *

Megatron ended up at Mercy's home, feeling like it had been ages since he had last laid his optics upon it. It was such a relief to see, and he could feel his spark swell with comfort and reprieve knowing that he was so close to Mercy, that he was going to see her again. He only hoped that she would forgive him, that she would be glad to see him, because it was ecstasy just to be outside her home. But when he saw a police car in the driveway he quickly assumed his human form. A little leery as to what was going on, he went to the front door and knocked, as awkward as the situation was.

A few moments later the officer answered the door, he looked Megatron over before saying, "Ah Matt, how good it is to see you again."

Megatron immediately recognized him as Officer Rivera, the same man who had questioned him about Mercy's kidnapping. A bit concerned as to why the officer was there he asked, "What's going on?"

"I take it you haven't heard."

"Heard? Heard what?"

"Well, let me start by asking this, where were you when Mercy needed you the most?"

Megatron thought quickly, "I was out of town, why? What happened to her?" It was all he could do to refrain himself from grabbing hold of the officer's neck and strangling the information out of him.

The officer decided to toy with him a bit, "Well, I hate to be the one to tell you this then, but…"

Megatron closed his eyes not wanting to hear the rest. He felt his heart explode in agony as he prepared himself to hear the words that Mercy had died. Oh if only he had taken her with him! This never would have happened…

"Mercy got really sick; she's down in a hospital in Syracuse."

"You mean, she's still alive?"

"Of course she's alive!" the officer replied knowing that he had succeeded in convincing the poor man that the girl he loved had died, if only for ten seconds.

"Well how sick is she?"

"I don't know, sick enough to be transferred to a hospital in Syracuse."

"What hospital is she in?"

"St. Joseph's Health Center, I was here getting some of her clothes because the hospital requested them for testing or something, are you going down there?"

"Of course I'm going down there."

"Then perhaps you could take these down for me," the officer stated, handing him a bundle of clothes, "It'd save me gas money, with the prices of gas these days."

"Yeah right…if you don't mind me I'm going to go now," Megatron remarked as he walked over to his car form that was evenly parked in the driveway.

Officer Rivera watched him as he got in and buckled his seat belt before starting his engine and driving off down the road, in the direction of Syracuse. Shaking his head, the officer then locked up the residence and got behind the wheel of his squad car where he then proceeded to leave himself.

* * *

It was all Megatron could do to keep from driving over the speed limit. He was so worried about his Mercy; he wasn't even exactly sure what had happened to her to cause her to need to be in a hospital. She must have been really sick, and he betted it was from their last day together, when it was raining, and he had told her to go inside before she got sick…well, low and behold, she had gotten sick. He just hoped she wasn't too bad. But then again if she had been transferred to another hospital, it must have been bad.

"_Oh if I had just taken her with me,"_ he thought as he drove along, using the satellite technology via the internet to guide him on his way to St. Joseph's hospital, _"None of this would have ever happened. But if Mercy had gotten sick I could have gotten her to a medic, not some human that will only cause her more pain and suffering."_

He was just so anxious to see her again; it was like a hunger, a hunger he couldn't quench until he had her back, safe and sound, in his arms again. He couldn't wait to touch her and smell her and taste her and hold her, and this time he would have her for eternity instead of an eternity without her.

"_Hang on just a little longer Mercy, I'm coming for you."_

* * *

A good hour and a half had gone by before Megatron finally pulled into the parking lot of St. Joseph's Health Center. It was a relief to be there, but it was an even bigger relief to know that only concrete walls separated him from his mate now. He was so worried about her though it was all he could do to keep himself from transforming and ripping the hospital to shreds until he found his precious Mercy. Assuming his human form, Megatron quickly climbed out of his car form and half walked, half ran into the hospital.

It had been so long since they had last seen each other, or so it felt…

The automatic doors slid open for him and he unwillingly slowed his pace when he saw a Caution: Wet Floor sign standing up from the floor. He glanced around, unsure of what to do and his eyes landed on a receptionist's desk. The decepticon leader walked up to it, and the lady sitting behind the desk asked in a sweet voice, "Hello sir, may I help you?"

"I'm looking for a Mercy LeCroix."

"I'm sorry sir; visitors are not permitted into her room at this time."

Megatron felt concern and unease course through him, "Why not?"

"She's too sick to see anybody, and we don't want her illness spreading."

"Well, how sick is she?"

"I cannot disclose that information to you unless you are an immediate family member."

Megatron couldn't believe this; he had journeyed so far just to get his love back only to have this happen. He was not about to give up though, he would get to his Mercy one way or another…and he was so terrified for her now. He had to see her, before something happened, before he really did lose her.

"Look, ma'am, I'm…" he struggled for the right words to say, "Her and I are more than just friends and you may not understand, but I _need_ to see her."

The lady pursed her lips to the side, "Well…could I have your name please? Seeing no one else has come to visit her there might be a slight chance that I can get you in, if only for five minutes, to see her."

"I would greatly appreciate that. I was sent down with some of her belongings as well."

The receptionist nodded, "Yes, Mercy's been craving her own clothes for a while now. She can't wear them yet, but it might do her some good to know she has some clothes here. Now, your name please?"

Megatron decided to use the only human name he had disguised himself as that Mercy would know, "Thor Collins."

The receptionist wrote his name down and got up from the desk saying, "Wait here, I'll be right back." And she disappeared behind a corner.

Megatron sighed heavily leaning against the countertop, _"Please Primus be on my side one last time…please let me see her."_

And he began one of the most excruciating waits of his life.

* * *

So, will Megatron be permitted to see Mercy? You'll have to find out in the next chapter, until then, please review!


	25. Hurt No More

I tried to upload this last night, but the power kept surging from a freak October snowstorm, I guess that's what I get for living in Upstate New York. But anyways, school was cancelled today so I can finally update this. I apologize for the long wait too, I was busy with school. But not today.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Hurt No More**

"Dr. Brown, do you have a minute? This is Stacy at the reception desk," spoke a soft and sweet female voice into the receiver of a phone. Stacy glanced over her shoulder into the lobby where a purple-haired man was sitting, his gaze concentrated on the floor.

A deep, attractive male voice replied, "What is it Stacy?"

"There is someone here to see Mercy. He addressed himself as Thor Collins and claims to be Mercy's boyfriend. From the way he acts I see no reason to doubt him."

"Well, I hate to turn him away, but I don't want him catching Mercy's illness."

"But you've been around Mercy for a few days now and _you_ haven't become sick."

On the other end of the receiver Dr. Brown pursed his lips to the side, "That's because I have protective gear on."

"The nurses don't go in there with protective gear and they haven't gotten sick."

The doctor sighed heavily, "Alright, I suppose we could let him in for a little while, but only if Mercy allows him to come inside."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," replied Dr. Brown and he hung up. He was in his office, and Mercy's room was just at the other end of the hall. Getting up from his chair, he walked out of his office and ventured down the hallway until he came to Mercy's room. There was a machine that dispensed hand-sanitizer right outside the door to Mercy's room and he dispensed a little of that onto his hands and once he had rubbed it in, he walked into the girl's room, only to see she was fast asleep.

They had been waking her up every two hours to check her blood pressure, temperature, heart rate, and other things, so it didn't surprise him to find her asleep; he only hated to wake her up. He walked over to her bed, deciding he shouldn't keep the man in the lobby waiting and gently shook Mercy. Her pale blue eyes fluttered open and she looked up at him, a pained expression upon her face.

"Dr. Brown?" she asked in a husky, hoarse voice.

"I'm sorry to wake you Mercy," remarked the doctor, "but there is someone here to see you."

Her eyes widened a bit in surprise, "Someone…to see me?"

"Yes," said the doctor. He had noticed that since her arrival to St. Joseph's that her condition had gotten progressively worse.

She had become weaker and slept most of the time, she never went to the bathroom, which alarmed him, but it seemed to be having no harm on her present condition. Mercy hadn't been out of the bed in days, and Dr. Brown was afraid she'd develop bedsores soon if she didn't get up and get moving around, but she was so weak he doubted that she could hardly walk now. It was all she could do to speak in coherent sentences. But the most prominent thing he noticed was that she had a lack of appetite, she wouldn't eat anything, and anything she did eat wouldn't stay down. Dr. Brown couldn't help but notice that Mercy was highly depressed, that she acted as if she missed something profusely, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. He knew the poor girl had already been through a lot, and maybe she was just having an extremely hard time adjusting back to life after the murder.

"W-Who is it?" Mercy stuttered, fighting to keep her eyes open.

"Thor Collins, do you know him?"

"The name sounds familiar," replied the girl.

"Would you like to see him?"

Her eyelids fluttered, she was losing the battle to keep them open, "Can he wait a little while longer so I can get some more sleep?"

"Of course, I'll be back in an hour."

But Mercy didn't reply since she had already closed her eyes and fallen back to sleep. Dr. Brown shook his head slightly and exited the room. He then headed for the receptionist's desk and found Stacy sitting there, minding to some paperwork. He also observed the man that was sitting in the lobby.

Stacy heard him come in and looked up at him. "Oh, hey Rob," she greeted him casually.

Megatron glanced over to the receptionist when he heard her speak, he saw a man standing there, for what purpose, he wasn't exactly sure. He cast his gaze back to the floor after a moment, but kept his audio receptors—ears on them.

"What brings you here?" the woman questioned.

"I came to talk with Mr. Collins. I just visited Mercy."

Upon hearing that, Megatron snapped his gaze back upon the receptionist and the man standing there, his full attention on them now.

"And?" wondered Stacy.

"She was sleeping when I went in, so I woke her up and told her that someone was here to see her, but she wants to sleep a little while longer before she sees anyone. She fell back asleep before I even left the room."

Stacy gestured over to Megatron, "Perhaps you should be telling him this."

Dr. Brown looked over at him and then looked back to Stacy. He gave her a quick wink before he walked out from behind the receptionist desk and headed over to Megatron. The Decepticon leader didn't bother to stand up as the man sat down next to him. Extending his hand the man said, "Hi, I'm Dr. Rob Brown, Mercy's doctor."

Megatron reluctantly shook the doctor's hand and replied, "Thor Collins. Just how is Mercy?"

"Well," Dr. Brown remarked and then answered slowly, "She wasn't good when she got here and I can't say she's gotten any better…in fact she's gotten slightly worse."

"How…how so?"

"She's extremely weak, she won't eat, drink…I doubt she has even the strength to walk. And it seems to be all she can do to speak in coherent sentences."

Megatron looked down and away from him, not at all liking what he was hearing. After a few long moments he turned back to the doctor and asked, "Can I see her?"

The doctor glanced down at his watch before saying, "Yeah, but you'll need to wait another hour and ten minutes."

Megatron felt like that was another eternity…and Dr. Brown saw his disappointment and sadness. "You really care about that girl don't you?" questioned the doctor.

"Yes, a lot more than I ever thought I could care about a person."

Dr. Brown glanced back to Stacy. "Yeah, I know what you mean…" he trailed off and then turned back to the Decepticon leader, "You wouldn't have happened to have brought some of Mercy's clothes down would you?"

"I did."

"Alright, why don't you go get those and then we'll get you ready to go see her. If you're quiet enough, she won't even know you're there and can continue sleeping. But if she should happen to wake up, well, I guess you got someone other than me to talk to."

Megatron grinned, "Alright, I'll be right back." And the Decepticon leader quickly went out to his vehicle form to get the clothes.

* * *

Mercy awoke to the sounds of a nurse's heels clicking as she walked by her room. She rolled over so her back was to the door in an attempt to muffle the sound, but it was just the same as it was before. She was now facing the window, but the blinds were drawn so that not an ounce of light could get through. Mercy sighed heavily, not really tired anymore, but she didn't feel like having a visitor either. She looked and felt like crap, her hair wasn't a disaster in the making, it was made, and she certainly didn't want anyone to see her in her hospital gown. She wasn't allowed to have any clothes on underneath, and she felt utterly naked and vulnerable.

Her ankle wasn't much better either. The swelling around it had finally gone down, but she didn't know how it looked since Dr. Brown and the nurses had it all bandaged up. Her dry heaves were gone, finally, and she didn't miss them, but her fever persisted. Her body was always aching and she was always cold and shivering…she felt completely helpless and weak…something she hated being.

But her heart hurt the most.

Sitting in a hospital bed couldn't get her mind off the man, the machine she loved the most out of all things in her life. Mercy had nothing else to do but think about him and dream about him constantly. Her dreams about the Decepticon leader gave her some comfort since he was not there, but when she woke up she was always reminded of the terrible, terrible heartache in her chest. Her Megatron was gone…and reality hurt so much.

If he were to ever come back, by some sheer happenstance, she wasn't sure how'd she react, if she'd run to him and capture him in her arms or if she would turn up her nose and walk away…only to run back to him after taking only a few steps in the opposite direction. At some point she would give him hell, but she figured if he ever came back it was because he missed her just as much, that he felt the same pain she was feeling. It was so crippling and debilitating that it consumed her, and Mercy couldn't help but feel the virus she had was feeding off her heartache as some cruel, cruel monster would.

She sighed heavily and rolled over so she was on her back, looking out into the room. Mercy couldn't remember who this Thor Collins guy was that wished to see her. The name was only vaguely familiar, though she couldn't place where she had ever heard it or met someone of that name. Her self-diagnostics had shown her that the virus had attacked some of her memories and deleted some images, but it hadn't deleted her memory of Megatron, and she almost wished that the virus would have.

"_Maybe he's Megatron in disguise,"_ she thought and chuckled softly afterwards. There was no use in fooling herself with false fantasies.

She longed to sit up and stretch, but she didn't have the energy to try…or the reason. Instead, she stayed in the position she was in and tried to fall back to sleep.

* * *

Megatron had been quite disgusted when Dr. Brown led him to the bathroom so he could wash his hands, and then he led him down a long, narrow hallway to some room with a closed wooden door. The doctor, who was holding Mercy's clothes, instructed him to take some of the hand-sanitizer before he could go any farther, which Megatron did. When his hands were more than 100% germ free, Dr. Brown handed the clothes back to him and said, "Well, this is Mercy's room, you can stay as long as you like I guess, but if you should start to feel ill at all by being in her presence please do not hesitate to leave."

"She can't look that bad can she?"

Dr. Brown chuckled, "Oh no, she looks like your everyday sick person, we just don't want you getting her worse, or you contracting her illness."

"Oh."

Dr. Brown opened the door and stepped aside so the Decepticon leader could enter, and he did so promptly, and then the doctor shut the door behind him and returned to his office. Megatron ignored the door closing behind him and slowly walked over to Mercy's bedside where there were a couple of chairs. He set the clothes in one chair and sat down in the other one, sighing deeply.

Megatron slowly let his optics roam her form. The blanket was at her waist and he could see her arms and torso. It was easy to see that she had lost a considerable amount of weight. She was frail and deathly white and there was a look of utmost sorrow and pain on her face. "Oh Mercy," he breathed, feeling so terrible for leaving her behind.

"You're not the quietest," came her voice in a small whisper.

Megatron grinned broadly and leaned forward a bit, "Mercy I thought you were sleeping."

She opened her eyes and looked at him, "No…I woke up a few minutes ago. Are you…Thor?"

"You don't remember?"

"I've…no, not really."

"Not the hair?"

She shook her head.

"Face?"

She shook her head again.

"What about the voice?"

And once more she shook her head no.

Megatron sighed heavily again, "You don't recognize me?"

"No, sorry…but now that you mention it your voice is rather familiar."

The Decepticon leader smiled, she hadn't forgotten him, she had just hadn't heard his voice in so long she couldn't remember what it sounded like, but she obviously recognized it. He got up and sat on the edge of her bed, guessing he should tell her who he really was.

"You do owe me an explanation though," Megatron said.

"What do you mean?"

"What happened to you to put you in this miserable place?"

Mercy narrowed her eyes at him, "Just…who are you and how do you know me?"

The man smiled.

The girl watched in stunned disbelief as the man's image suddenly faded away. Mercy blinked a couple times and slowly sat up on the bed, wondering if she had really seen anything or not. _"But I talked to someone…"_ she mused. And then a realization hit her, causing her heart to swell and beat with thrilled expectation, and she made a fist and held it against her heart. _"Has he come back?"_

A dimension gate suddenly opened and Mercy thought her heart was going to beat right out of her chest. She watched in utmost happiness and with tears in her eyes as the man, the machine she loved the most appeared through the flaming gate and walked, nobly and proudly, to the edge of her bed.

"Megatron…"she breathed, hardly able to usher that word since she was so stunned to see him.

His grinned, "It's been a long time Mercy."

For a moment she was too stunned to do anything, but when her shock wore away a little she began fumbling with the blankets, trying to get them off of her so she could get up and embrace him. Megatron saw this and he quickly sat down on the edge of the bed where his holoform had previously been. He carefully took Mercy in his arms and held her against him saying, "Don't get up, I've hurt you enough, I don't want you getting hurt anymore."

Hot tears of joy streamed down her face and ran down Megatron's armor, but he didn't care. She wrapped her arms tightly around him, grasping at various areas of his torso to confirm that she was really holding him again, that this wasn't some dream. Megatron didn't bother to hold back the shudders of pleasure he felt when Mercy's fingers groped over his sensors. He rubbed his hands delicately along her back, soothing her as much as he could. He buried his face in her hair, recapturing her scent; oh he didn't want to let her go.

After a few long moments, Mercy finally asked in a muffled voice, "Why did you come back?"

He tilted her face to his, using a thumb to wipe away her tears. "Because Mercy," he replied tenderly, "I couldn't live without you." And he eagerly captured her lips with his, delivering her a kiss that was long overdue. He kissed her with a fire, with a passion, with a determination to convince her that he wouldn't ever leave her behind again. It was a desperate and hungry kiss, and Megatron longed to go so much farther, but he knew it would have to wait. Mercy wasn't in any condition for anything too extreme yet.

When the kiss was through, Megatron explained to her, his face a breath away from hers, "I've come to bring you back to Cybertron with me. I want you there and I want you with me where I know you'll be safe."

"I can't go now Megatron, I can't even walk."

"I will wait with you until you get better."

She smiled softly and rested her head under his chin, just like she had used to, "Just what have you accomplished on Cybertron so far?"

"I've gotten myself a very powerful army…and I already control over a quarter of the planet."

"You're going to win this time."

"Things are looking very favorable, but what happened after I left?"

"The very morning you left, when I woke up, my self-diagnostics said I had a virus…and it's all gone down hill from there. I got in trouble with the police."

Megatron looked down at her, "How so?"

"When I was back at the hospital in Pine Grove…I didn't like the way the doctors were treating me, so I ran away, but they caught me and transferred me here. Dr. Brown is a lot better, but I just want to get out of here."

"What about your ankle?"

"It's still locked up and everything."

"I take it you haven't stayed off your feet then."

"I have for a few days considering I'm too weak to walk right now," Mercy argued.

He smiled and kissed the top of her head, "Primus I've missed you."

She leaned against him and Megatron rubbed his hands along the smooth fabric of her hospital gown. The material was so thin Megatron could almost feel Mercy's metallic skin through it. But his fingers didn't feel what should have been there, the clips to the back of her bra, and he realized that she didn't have any clothes on underneath. He smiled softly, wishing he could remove the hideous garment from his love's body, but he wouldn't. And he now understood why she craved her clothes back.

"I've missed you too. So much that I thought I was going to die."

He held her closer to him, "Now that I am back, everything is going to be alright."

She gave a small smiled, "I'm sorry you had to come back to see me like this."

"Mercy, no matter how you look you're still beautiful in my optics."

She leaned her full weight against him, holding him a bit tighter in her arms, "I love you."

Oh, he had missed those three words so much. He tilted her face to his and kissed her gently before breathing, "I love you too Mercy."

The two of them suddenly heard footsteps in the hall and they stopped outside the door to Mercy's room. Both Mercy and the Decepticon leader exchanged nervous glances before Megatron said, "I will be right back." He opened a dimension gate and stepped through it, only to reappear a few moments later in his holoform, and just fractions of a second before Dr. Brown walked into the room.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting anything, but a nurse is going to be in, in a couple minutes to check up on you Mercy."

Mercy glanced over at Megatron, "Can Thor stay?"

"Just as long as you don't get him sick and he doesn't get you any sicker."

Mercy gave a soft smile, "I don't think we'll have to worry about that."

The doctor nodded, "Well, I let you two get back to whatever it was you were doing." And he left the room, closing the door behind him.

Megatron resumed his seat on the bed beside Mercy and she leaned against him saying, "I'll be happy to be out of here. I already feel so much better with you back."

"I should get you to a medic back on Cybertron." He suddenly remembered the bracelets he had in his subspace, but as he looked around the hospital room, he knew this wasn't the place to ask her to be his spark mate.

"No, I want to go to Cybertron in top condition," Mercy replied, looking up at him, "That way your troops won't think you've fallen in love with some weak and pathetic female."

He chuckled, "Don't worry about their opinions Mercy. If they say anything you don't like or I don't like they will be dealt with immediately."

Mercy sighed, a passionate sigh filled with completion, and she glanced over to the chairs and noticed a pile of her clothes on one of the chairs. She felt tears in her eyes and she looked up to Megatron asking, "You brought some of my clothes down?"

"I heard you wanted them."

She leaned her full weight against him, smiling gently. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't have come back," she breathed in a voice full of love.

He embraced her, gently yet tightly, and whispered, "I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't have come back."

And he went to kiss her again when suddenly the door opened and the nurse entered. It was a female nurse and her cheeks reddened when she saw the exchange of passion about to take place between Mercy and the Decepticon leader. Mercy glanced over and saw her and reluctantly pulled away from Megatron.

The nurse cleared her throat shyly and said, "I'm sorry if I interrupted anything."

"No, you're okay," Mercy replied and gestured for Megatron to sit in one of the chairs.

Megatron complied and got up from the bed and took a seat in the chair he had first sat down in when he had come into the room. The nurse approached Mercy and she laid back on the bed, sighing heavily. "How long is this going to take?"

The nurse shook her head slightly, "You ask that every time. I just need to take your temperature; it'll only take a few minutes." She handed the thermometer to Mercy who put it in her mouth and under her tongue.

A couple minutes later the thermometer beeped and Mercy handed it back to the nurse saying, "Here you go Cindy."

Cindy took the thermometer and looked at it. "Well you still got a fever," she said as she recorded the temperature on a paper that was inside a manila folder.

"That's not a surprise," Mercy mumbled.

"Oh, before I forget, Dr. Brown wanted me to tell you that you'll be getting more visitors tomorrow."

Mercy and Megatron exchanged glances.

"Visitors? How do you know?"

"They called not too long ago to say they were coming."

"Who?" questioned Mercy.

"Your parents."

* * *

Dun dun DUN! Another cliffie for you guys, and I consider this chapter my birthday present unto my devoted readers and reviewers since tomorrow is my 17th birthday. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, there's only four more left after this one, so this story is almost done. Please review!


	26. Get Well Soon

I guess it's about time I updated this. Well, I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year now. I hope you enjoy this chapter. By the way, thanks to everyone who has been reading and reviewing, I still really appreciate it. Keep in mind that Megatron is in his holoform.

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**Chapter Twenty-Six: Get Well Soon**

Mercy had never felt this whole in her life. The empty pieces of her heart where darkness and hollowness leaked through the cracks were sealed off and replaced with love and completeness. She wasn't alone anymore, her savior had traveled across galaxies to save her from herself, and though he had tried to live without her, he came at her darkest hour to rekindle her light. He had come when she had least expected him and he walked with her through a couple months of her life, hating and loving her, but the love prevailed. She had done the same, but she allowed him to conquer her fully and completely. The last thing she wanted anymore was to be left to face the world alone.

Megatron, her conqueror, her savior, her 8th world wonder...he had come in and helped her solve all her problems. He solved her loneliness, her self-hatred, her desire for fulfillment. He helped her find who she really was and who she wanted to be. He helped her mature, calm down, and learn to live one day at a time. And now he was back to help her keep solving whatever problems she had to face down the road.

And one had already presented itself, her parents.

Her parents, who were supposed to be gone and evaporated from the face of the Earth, were suddenly alive and coming to see her, even if though they had abandoned her for two years. The nurse had long since left the room, but Mercy was so angry that she hadn't said a word. Megatron could see the anger, the fire, burning in her eyes, and he knew it was over the news that her parents were coming to visit her tomorrow. He stroked her arm gently, trying to calm her down, but no matter what she did the angry fire remained in her eyes.

"I can't believe it," Mercy finally said, "I _won't_ believe it."

Megatron wasn't sure what to say, and finally he decided to agree with her, "I won't believe it either then. It wouldn't make sense for them to come back now, not after they have abandoned you for two years."

"They're probably after something, the fame I guess."

Megatron frowned and shook his head, "No, it probably isn't your real parents. Just a couple of people disguised as your parents to get attention."

"That makes the most sense." And she returned to her silent rage.

The Decepticon leader stroked his thumb against the back her hand, "What if it really is them?"

"It can't possibly be."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want them to come back!" she snapped and then sighed heavily, "No they never abused me, I'll give them some credit for trying to love me and raise me, but they've always loved themselves and their money more than me. I was the only real bump in their lives; I was their accident that they didn't want to have to deal with anymore. They couldn't deal with the burden of me, so they left…" She broke down into a fit of helpless tears as she continued, "The last two years I did nothing but try to figure out what it was that I had done wrong, what the hell was wrong with me that would drive my own parents away. I surely wasn't the perfect child, but no child is."

"Mercy—

"They left me alone, broken, and bitter towards everyone I knew. I tried to fade away from the public eye, to just disappear inside a world of my own because I thought everyone hated me. If I couldn't earn love and compassion from my parents, how could I possibly earn it from the rest of the world?"

"Mercy—

"I was so alone…and then you came along and you changed everything for me. For the first time I felt wanted, I felt like I mattered, I was actually important to someone. And then when you left—

"Mercy!" Megatron shouted this time, cutting her off. His spark was nearly overloaded with emotion: love, pity, grief, anger, _loathing hate._ He gathered Mercy in his arms and crushed her against his torso. "I don't want to hear another word," he breathed bitterly into her ear, "I know I left you, but I do not want you to hold that against me. I am your only happiness now Mercy, you will disregard all the suffering I've made you go through because I will _never_ make you suffer like that again."

He felt her arms encircle his waist and tightly clutch onto the back of his shirt. "Yes," he hissed, "That's it Mercy."

She wanted to push him back onto the bed and just lie on top of him. If her gown failed to cover her, she wouldn't care. There was no need to hide herself from him.

"Mercy, know that it won't be very long now until I take you away from your parents, until you leave them behind," he continued, "I will protect you from here on out and from now on it is only you and me. Nobody else matters."

Mercy looked up at him, her sobbing had ceased, but her cheeks were still wet from her tears. "I love you Megatron…I wish so badly we could go to Cybertron now, but this stupid virus—

"Do not worry about it," he replied in a gentle voice as he dried her face, "Let me do the worrying for you." And he captured her lips in a thirsty, dominating kiss.

When the kiss was through, Megatron tucked a lock of hair behind Mercy's ear and said, "It's been a long time since you've refueled I'm guessing. Would you like an unleaded oil?"

"Yes, please."

The Decepticon leader produced one from his pocket and handed it to Mercy. She took it and she was just about to take a big swig of it when Megatron said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down there, just sip it."

Mercy gave him an irritated look, but followed his advice. After she had drunk about half the can, she began taking regular size gulps until the can was gone. Megatron smiled at her with a look of amusement on his face as she set the can aside, "Feel better now?"

"Yeah, a lot better," she answered. And, as if on cue, she suddenly felt her ankle pop and a wave of relief washed through her.

Megatron saw the sudden relief in her eyes and asked, "What happened?"

"My ankle is better now too."

The Decepticon leader grinned, "That's good."

She was silent for a moment, but her gaze had wandered to her clothes in the chair beside the bed. "Help me walk to the bathroom; I want to put my clothes back on."

Megatron shook his head, "I know you want to get out of here badly, but I can't do that Mercy. Dr. Brown might just have my head if you put your clothes on."

She frowned, "Do you _want _to see my naked body?"

His grin broadened.

"Never mind, don't answer that." And she laid back on the bed.

Megatron sighed, wishing he could lay down beside her and hold her until forever expired, but the bed was smaller than her bed back at her home. Instead, he just leaned forward a bit and stroked her face gently with a finger.

"I'm going to take a nap," she mumbled, closing her eyes, "If you want, you can go back to my house and sleep there."

"I'm not leaving you Mercy."

"Are you sure?"

"I've been gone long enough."

She smiled and Megatron watched as his Mercy fell asleep. He kissed her forehead lightly and got up from the bed and moved into one of the chairs. He scooted it up so that he was right next to her bedside and he took her hand in his. For the first time in a long time he felt tired himself. He leaned back in the chair and allowed his eyes to close. He could hardly wait to get Mercy out of there…

* * *

Megatron awoke sometime later when he heard a door in the hallway shut. His neck was cramped and his legs had fallen asleep, so he stood and stretched the pain away and sat back down in the chair. That's when he noticed it was dark in the room, except for a dim light above the machinery that was attached to Mercy. He checked the time on his internal clock and saw that it was just past one in the morning.

"_That was a long nap,"_ he thought to himself with an amused smile on his face. He was still tired though, so he went to take Mercy's hand and go back to sleep, but he noticed something. And he couldn't help but smirk when he noticed.

Somehow, while she was sleeping, Mercy had managed to get the blankets off of her and her hospital gown had ridden up a bit so that from her abdomen down, everything was exposed. He knew she would have a fit if he looked, but he wasn't going to tell her. And he did look; no force in the world was going to stop him from looking at his love's naked body…well at least part of it.

When he looked, he wanted her; he could feel a swelling in-between his legs, but he had to squish away the thoughts of his arousal. He pulled Mercy's hospital gown back down over her so she was covered and then he pulled the blankets back over her. He kissed her on the cheek before he sat back down in his chair. He took her hand in his and it wasn't long before he fell asleep.

* * *

Mercy awoke to warm, wet lips against her neck and hot, heavy breath in her ear. She smiled and rolled onto her back. Lips found hers and she accepted them in a kiss before she opened her eyes to meet Megatron's gaze. "Good morning," he said huskily.

"Good morning? How long have I been asleep?"

"A long time," he breathed, sitting down beside her, "You want an unleaded oil?"

"Yeah sure, but you might have to help me finish it."

"That's not a problem," he remarked and produced one from his pocket. He opened it and handed it to her.

She drank about three-fourths of it and left the rest for Megatron, which he downed in one chug. He then set the can aside and asked, "Are you ready to meet your 'parents?'"

Mercy frowned irritated, "Yeah, right. Help me to the bathroom; I need to take a shower."

"Do you need help in the shower?"

"We'll see when I stand up."

Megatron stood and helped her out of the bed. When she was on her feet, she almost fell over, but Megatron caught her. She leaned against him for a few seconds claiming she was dizzy. The Decepticon leader said he would carry her, but she refused saying, "I need to learn how to walk again."

"Alright," he said, wrapping an arm around her waist to give her more support.

The first couple of steps were wobbly, but it wasn't long until Mercy was able to stand and walk on her own. She and Megatron made it over to the bathroom and Mercy told him to wait outside and that she would holler if she needed help at all. A bit disappointed, Megatron waited outside the bathroom door until his Mercy came back out, her hair and body dried and she was still in her hospital gown.

"I hate this stupid gown," she groaned as she leaned against him and walked back with him over to the bed, "I feel naked in it."

Megatron understood how she felt, vulnerable and weak. He wrapped a strong arm around her once she had settled back onto the bed and then said, "It won't be long until you can wear your clothes again. Have you started feeling better at all?"

"Well, with you back I feel a ton better, but only about seventy-percent out of a hundred," she replied, wishing she could just get out of the bed and sit with Megatron…hold him, kiss him, love him.

There was a knock on the door suddenly and Megatron quickly moved into one of the chairs beside the bed. Mercy said the person could come in, and the nurse walked in. It was a different nurse than it had been the afternoon before, but she had the same manila folder and Mercy recognized her all the same.

"How are you doing this morning Mercy?"

"Better," Mercy answered as this nurse came over and took her blood pressure and her temperature.

After a few minutes, the nurse was done and said, "Well, your fever has gone down since yesterday. If it keeps going down, you'll probably be able to get out of here in a couple of days and go home."

Mercy and Megatron exchanged glances.

"Dr. Brown also wanted me to let you know that your parents are—

There was a knock at the door and the nurse answered it and she looked to Mercy and said, "They're here."

Mercy had to keep from scowling, "Okay."

Megatron scooted a little closer to Mercy in his chair and took her hand. The nurse held the door open for the couple and they walked into the room, the door shutting behind them rather loudly. Megatron watched as Mercy's face paled and her expression dropped.

"Oh my God," she breathed, "It _is_ you."

The couple exchanged glances before Mercy's mother stepped forward. She was about forty years old and in average shape. She was still attractive and Megatron could quite clearly see that Mercy had gotten her looks from her mother. Her mother had auburn hair and light brown eyes. Mercy's father was taller than her mother and his brown hair was graying. He was about the same age as his wife and he had green eyes.

"Did you come here to talk or just stare at me?"

Her dad looked over to the man sitting beside his daughter, "Who's he Mercy?"

"Thor," she replied.

"Mercy darling," her mother spoke as she walked to the other side of the bed opposite of Megatron. She sat down on the edge of the bed and said, "Mercy we didn't mean to leave you behind for so long. We just had one business trip after another—

"No breaks?"

"Well, there were a few vacations, but we were always travelling."

"Yet you couldn't come home on your vacations to check on your sixteen year old daughter?"

"We tried, but it never worked out."

"What the hell were you doing then, sipping expensive wines in Paris? Walking the Great Wall of China?"

"Mercy, we wouldn't have left you home alone if we didn't think you were ready to get by, by yourself for a little while."

"You think a fourteen year old is capable of living by themselves for two years?"

"You were Mercy."

Mercy squeezed Megatron's hand in rage, "You're just as much a stranger to me now as you were before you left. Why did you come back, there must be something that you're after."

"We saw you on the news; we got a little time off from work and were able to come see you when you need us the most."

"I don't want you here."

"Mercy," called her dad suddenly, "We haven't forgotten about you, we send you money in the mail so you can get by. We didn't completely abandon you."

"Money means absolutely nothing," Mercy replied sourly, "And don't say you didn't completely abandon me because you did. Neither of you were ever there when I _really_ needed you."

"We're here now," said her mother.

"I am feeling _better_ now; you missed me when I was a lot sicker than this…I don't need you anymore."

"Mercy how can you say that?"

"How can you ask that?" Megatron spoke suddenly, his temper flaring now.

"What do you mean?"

Megatron glared at her, "You abandoned her for two years; for two years she has had to live on her own, hardly able to get by while you're off gallivanting about the globe. She has learned how to get by without you and your filthy money…why would she need you anymore?"

Her mother fell silent for a moment before she rebutted, "I am her mother, do not tell me whether or not my daughter needs me. I have known her far longer than you."

"Perhaps, but I know her far _better_ than you."

Mercy was so happy when Megatron said that that she could have leaned over and kissed him, but she refrained herself from doing so and decided she would kiss him after her parents were gone.

Mercy's mother didn't say anything to refute Megatron's statement; her father didn't say anything to defend his wife. Finally, after a prolonged silence, her father spoke, "Mercy, we're coming home to stay. We want to try and be a family again, we want to make up for those two years we weren't home."

Mercy was sick of arguing, she figured she mine as well just play along so that they would leave her alone and get out of her room. She smirked as she said, "I'll be going home too."

Her mother smiled, "We know that Mercy. Your father and I can't wait to start anew."

"Yeah, me too."

Megatron hid a grin.

"See Mercy, things will get better."

"I know, I have full faith in that."

"That's what I like to hear. Now, your father and I are going to go find a hotel room and get something to eat. We've been travelling for a couple days now and we're tired, so we will stop in tomorrow and see you okay darling?"

Mercy felt nauseous when her mother said darling and answered, "Okay mom."

"I hope you feel better so you can go home soon," her mother said before she kissed Mercy's forehead.

Her father nodded in agreement and then left the room with his wife. Once the door was shut, Mercy let a pent up growl finally escape her throat, "I hate them! They don't give a damn about me."

"Mercy, how much money did the court give you?"

"Seventy-five thousand dollars…" she made a fist with her freehand, "I should've known that was what they were after."

Megatron brushed his lips across her cheek, "Do you need the money?"

"No, but I certainly don't want them to have it."

"Burn it."

Mercy shook her head, "That's too much money to just throw away. I'll give it to someone who needs it."

Megatron looked at her sternly, "That's very _Autobot_ of you."

"I'm not giving it to the poor."

He looked at her confused, "You're not?"

"No, the poor don't know how to use money. They buy things they don't need like fancy cars and nice phones instead of food, clothing, and other things they need."

"Then, who are you giving it to?"

"This hospital, and before you say anything in objection, they helped me the most while you were gone conquering Cybertron."

He squeezed her hand this time, "Don't think I didn't miss you Mercy."

Mercy knew she had gotten him angry. Sure she had missed him with all her mind, heart, body, and soul, but she could not disregard that he had felt the same hurt she had, that was why he had come back for her, that was why he was waiting for her now. She sat up and turned towards him. She placed a hand on his shoulder and slid it around behind his neck and, leaning forward; her lips found his and locked them in a fiery kiss.

Megatron felt his pulse quicken when Mercy's hand slid up the back of his neck into his mess of hair. She pulled her other hand free from his grasp and began sliding it ever so slowly down his torso. Megatron groaned, he ached to smother her into the bed, his weight crushing down upon her, but he couldn't. He wanted her so much closer, but he couldn't get her any closer. He knotted Mercy's gown in his hands out of frustration, he wanted that garment off of her, he wanted more room, more privacy than an unlocked hospital door, he wanted them together in a perfect union of one, writhing in unimaginable ecstasy.

Mercy's hand stopped at his pelvis, Megatron yearned to turn himself so that her hand would fall somewhere else, but he knew she wasn't ready to go that far. But that wouldn't stop him from trying anything; he slowly worked a hand around behind her and through the opening in the back of her gown. He began to slide his hand around to her front side when Mercy suddenly gasped. She broke the kiss and breathed, "Megatron…haven't you ever thought that I was too young?"

He gazed into her eyes, "Too young for me you mean?"

"Yes."

"No."

"Why not?"

"When it comes to relationships, transformers usually don't care about age, unless it's something totally absurd, like an ancient with a youngling. Why are you asking such an impertinent question?"

"Well, here on Earth if a young girl, especially someone my age, is with someone who is a lot older than her, she's sometimes viewed as scandalous or promiscuous."

"Are you having doubts Mercy?"

"No…I just don't want to be viewed that way when we get to Cybertron."

"You won't have to worry about a thing. A lot of femmes will be jealous of your position and importance to me."

"Just how renowned are you on Cybertron?"

Megatron grinned and removed his hand from inside Mercy's gown. He motioned for her to come to him, and she got up from the bed and sat on his lap. The Decepticon leader wrapped his arms tightly around her and Mercy rested her head under his chin.

"Everybody knows me in some way, shape, or form."

"Everyone on the planet?"

"Yes."

"That means—

"Don't worry Mercy, only Starscream will know about us for now. After we win the war, the rest of Cybertron will."

"Alright." She didn't ask anymore questions and after a brief silence, she reached over to touch her clothes.

Megatron held her tighter in his arms when he saw her do that and he breathed in her ear, "Get some sleep. I can tell you still have a fever." He watched her close her eyes and a few minutes later she was sound asleep. Megatron smiled and pulled a blanket off the bed and spread it over them. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to fall asleep too.

* * *

When Megatron woke back up, the lights were off again. He checked his internal clock and saw that it was ten o'clock at night. He had been sleeping fitfully, but he woke up roasting to death. He looked down at Mercy and saw little beads of coolant on her forehead. He put a hand to her forehead and realized she was a lot warmer than when she had first sat on his lap.

"N-Need energy," she mumbled in her sleep suddenly.

Megatron blinked. He wasn't sure what she meant by that, if she wanted unleaded oil or…it dawned on him. He had taken his dark energy back from her before he left…Mercy had probably been feeding off the dark energy as well. Perhaps she had caught the virus because she didn't have the dark energy there to protect her from it, whatever the case; he was going to give back what he had taken from her. His hand started glowing with the black mist and he placed it on Mercy's head. It didn't take long for the energy to be replenished inside of her.

"Mercy," he said, "Mercy wake up."

Her eyes fluttered open, "What…what's going on?"

"You're burning up; I'm going to put you back on the bed so you can be comfortable."

"Megatron I'm fine here."

"I know Mercy, but I want you to get better." And he placed her on the bed and covered her up.

Mercy sighed and said, "Can we see what's on the news?"

"Think they would have something about your parents?"

"You never know."

He handed her the television remote and she turned on the TV and tuned it to a local news channel. She watched a couple stories and finally it switched to a story about her. She turned up the volume as the news reporter said, "And in other news, Mercy LeCroix's parents have returned after abandoning Mercy for two years. We caught up with her parents shortly after they had visited Mercy and left the hospital."

The screen switched to a video of her mother and father. Her mother spoke, "We are hopeful, yes, we want to try and be a family again. We missed out on two years of our daughter's life and we need to make up for it. Mercy looked glad to see us, and she's hopeful to try again at being at family as well."

"That's a lie," Mercy scowled.

The screen switched back to the news anchor as he said, "However, Brenna Meyers' parents will be meeting with Mercy soon as well to discuss a possible adoption—

Mercy's mouth fell open. "What?!" she exclaimed shocked.

Megatron chuckled, "It seems as if everyone wants you, but I am the only one that can have you."

The girl groaned, "I hope I can get out of here before this whole mess unfolds."

The news anchor continued, "When asked about the possibility of Brenna's parents adopting Mercy, this is how her biological parents replied."

The screen switched to another video of her parents and this time Mercy's father replied, "That's out of the question. Mercy is our child and we are here to protect her and keep her."

Mercy turned off the TV and growled, "It's always one thing after another."

Megatron took the remote away from her, "Go to sleep. Maybe when you wake up they'll let you leave this place."

"I hope so," she breathed as she closed her eyes and let sleep overcome her, "I sure hope so."

Megatron kissed her as she fell asleep. She was too tired to kiss back, but he didn't need her or want her to. All he wanted was for her to get better; he wanted to take her away from all this suffering. She had been through enough, and the more the world turned against Mercy, the more Megatron hated the planet. Sure he admired the species, but that wouldn't stop him from destroying the planet one day, if Mercy allowed. He kissed her hand as he sat back in the chair and started to fall back to sleep.

It wouldn't be long until he took her to the place that he called home.

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Well, I hope you enjoyed this. Until the next chapter please review!


	27. Invisible Heart

I finally got around to updating this story. This chapter was a pain in the you-know-where, but I hope you enjoy it. Thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing by the way, I still love you guys for doing it. xD

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**Chapter Twenty-Seven: Invisible Heart**

Her eyes fluttered open and the usual morning fogginess that covered her eyes wasn't there. Startled, Mercy sat up quickly. Thinking something was wrong, she looked her body over only to see a little color had returned to her skin, she wasn't sore and achy, she didn't feel heavy and useless…was she normal? There wasn't any whiplash from sitting up too quickly, she wasn't lightheaded and dizzy, she felt like she was at her full health, all one-hundred percent. She felt whole and complete like she had before Megatron had left, before she had come down with the virus. Maybe it was gone…maybe she was healthy again; maybe she could finally go home.

Glancing over at Megatron, Mercy saw that he was still sleeping and, not having the heart to wake him, she got up from the bed, grabbed her normal clothes, and went into the bathroom to take a shower and get dressed. Once inside, she closed the door but didn't bother to lock it. Stripping out of the hideous hospital gown, she crumpled it up and tossed it across the bathroom into one of the far corners. There was no way she was going to put it back on. They'd have to strip her and put it back on her, but there was no way she was putting that rag on again of her own volition.

Stepping over to the shower, Mercy pulled back the curtain and turned on the water. Once it was warm enough, she stepped into the shower and pulled the curtain back so that if anyone came in, they wouldn't be able to see her. The shower was invigorating; Mercy felt as if she were washing away the remnants of her sickness. She massaged the shampoo through her hair, rinsed it out, and then repeated the process with the conditioner. After that, she used a bar of soap and cleaned her body off, feeling even better now then when she had first stepped into the shower. When she was completely cleaned and all the soap rinsed off of her, she turned the shower off and reached outside the curtain to grab a towel. Once she had it, she dried herself off the best that she could and then wrapped the towel around her torso.

Getting out of the shower, Mercy went over to the sink and mirror where there was a hairdryer. Using that, she dried her hair thoroughly and then turned the hair dryer off and put it away. The hospital had given her a brush, and using that, Mercy combed through the tangles of her wild mane. She wasn't sure why guys were attracted to women with longer hair, but she hated brushing hers. It was always a painful waste of time and she wanted to get it cut. Her hair went a few inches below her buttocks, and she wanted about two feet of hair taken off. She wasn't sure whether or not Megatron would approve of that, but she wouldn't ask him. The moment she got the opportunity to have her hair cut, she was having it cut, regardless of what he thought.

Once she had finished brushing it, Mercy immediately went for her clothes. She shed the towel from her body and slipped into her clothes without delay. The feeling of her jeans hugging her legs, the feeling of her shirt embracing her torso…it was so _good_. The socks on her feet…her bra…everything was in its ordered place.

Mercy hung up the towels to dry and then went over to the door. She opened it only to nearly jump out of her skin. Megatron was standing directly on the other side of the door, his form taking up the doorway and he was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. There was a frown on his lips, but a cruel smile in his fixed stare.

"What do you think you're doing, dearest?" he asked condescendingly.

She crossed her arms, "I was showering and getting dressed."

"You know you can't be in those clothes."

"They're my clothes, I decide when I can or can't wear them," she said and then added, "Besides, I'm not sick anymore."

At this, Megatron automatically reached out and held his hand to her forehead for a few brief moments. Eventually he took his hand away and said, "Perhaps we should get one of the nurses to confirm this."

"Can't you just take me to Cybertron now?"

"I'd love to, but I want to make sure you're okay first."

She sighed heavily before trying to walk by him. He uncrossed his arms and held one out across the doorway, catching her by the waist as she tried to walk by. Using that one arm, he crushed her against his torso so that her back was to his front. He held her there, left arm latched around her waist and left hand exploring the areas of her body that it could. With his free hand, he tucked Mercy's hair behind her ear, exposing her neck. He pressed his lips to her soft, pale skin and grinned when he heard her stifle a breath. Hi kissed his way up to where her neck met her jaw and then stopped.

"Tell me you love me," he breathed as he turned her face to his.

"I love you," she exhaled softly as his lips graced against hers.

Megatron swallowed her words and then devoured her lips in a compassionate kiss. He didn't pull away until his heart was satisfied and then turned Mercy to face him. "Now," spoke the Decepticon leader, "You get back in that bed."

Mercy grumbled something under her breath but did as Megatron said and went back to the bed. Megatron resumed his seat in the chair and looked at her. "What time does the nurse come in?"

The girl glanced over to the clock and answered, "Anytime now."

And, as if on cue, a nurse walked into the room. It was Cindy again and Mercy looked relieved to see her. Megatron had also noticed that this nurse was the only one that Mercy addressed by her name. Cindy, however, looked a little startled to see Mercy in her normal, everyday clothes.

"Who told you that you could put your clothes on Mercy?" Cindy asked as she took out a thermometer.

"Why can't I? I'm not sick anymore."

"Really? Do you feel better?"

"A _ton_ better," Mercy replied.

Cindy proceeded to take Mercy's temperature and was stunned, "Well, your fever has finally broke. I'm guessing you've been up and about. Thor, have you helped her walk at all?"

"She's walking by herself," Megatron responded surprised that the nurse knew his fake name.

Cindy took a paper out of the manila folder and wrote down Mercy's temperature and that she was walking again on her own, unassisted. The bandage had long since been removed from her ankle and if she was really feeling better…

"I'll go speak to Dr. Brown. If you're not sick anymore, there's no need for you to be stuck, cooped up here," Cindy stated.

Mercy and Megatron exchanged glances. "Alright," Mercy said and watched as Cindy left the room.

It wasn't long after Cindy left that Dr. Brown walked into the room, carrying the same manila folder that Cindy and the rest of the nurses had been carrying around. He smiled as he walked in and said, "Well Mercy, I'm glad to see that you're feeling better. You look a lot better too."

Megatron felt a twinge of jealously strike him when he heard Dr. Brown comment on Mercy's appearance. He grumbled lowly so that no one heard.

"Well, there are a couple more people that want to see you today," Dr. Brown continued, "So, one more day of bed rest and if your fever is still gone in the morning tomorrow, we'll let you go home."

Mercy grinned emphatically, "Really?"

Dr. Brown nodded, "I see no reason why you can't go home. You just have to take it easy, no school for another week until you're fully recuperated. Then you should be fine. I'm glad you came out of everything okay Mercy."

"Did you think that…I wasn't going to make it?"

"There were a couple times…but that's in the past now. You're okay and you're going to be okay."

Megatron suppressed a growl. Mercy almost died while he was gone, and not just once…he wasn't sure the exact number of times but Dr. Brown had said a couple. He couldn't stand the thought of her dying on him, he was angered and guilty all at once, but his guilt overcame the anger. He had to atone for his actions, for leaving her behind when she needed him the most, when he needed her the most. The last week or so had been so awful…but now…the present, this was so much better.

"Dr. Brown," Mercy started to stay and then hesitated.

Megatron knew she was going to say something about the money the court had given her. Dr. Brown looked to her and asked, "Yes?"

"…Who…is coming to see me today?"

"I think they're here. I'll show them in and let them introduce themselves."

Mercy nodded and Dr. Brown left the room. Megatron watched as the doctor left and then looked to Mercy and said, "I thought you were going to say something about the money."

"I was…" the girl confessed, "But I changed my mind."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I'll tell you later," she said just as a man and a woman walked into the room.

The man was tall and appeared to be in his late thirties or early forties. He was well poised, had glasses, and dark brown hair. His glasses were thin and accented his blue eyes. The woman had black hair and green eyes. She was young too, about the same age as the man. She had a petite figure and was on the short side.

Mercy felt a lump snag in her throat and she choked out, "Are you…Brenna's parents?"

The mother smiled in a friendly way and nodded, "We are." And she cast a cautious gaze over to Megatron.

Mercy followed her gaze and looked to Megatron saying, "Thor…could you leave for a few minutes?"

Megatron looked to Mercy dumbfounded before he sighed heavily and complied, "Alright." He then got up from the chair and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

"I'm guessing that's the boyfriend," Mr. Meyers said as he watched the door close.

The girl blushed, "Um…yeah…we're kind of crazy about each other." And her blush intensified.

"That's alright, Daphne and I were young when we got married," Mr. Meyers remarked gesturing to his wife.

"Oh come now Peter, I'm sure these two aren't ready to get married yet."

Peter shrugged and then Daphne sighed as she walked over to the chair Megatron had been sitting in and sat down. "Have you seen the news?" she asked finally, getting to the point.

"I have," Mercy replied.

"Is it true what your parents say then? That you really want to go back and try again?"

"Absolutely not, they're just after my money; they've always been more concerned about the money than me."

Peter came and sat down in the chair next to his wife. His wife spoke, "Mercy dear…we certainly don't mean to intrude, but we know that you're still a minor and you need parental custody…and we want to adopt you. Not to replace Brenna, but we feel we owe so much to you."

Mercy shook her head, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "No, no you've already given me the greatest friend I could've ever asked for. I did what I had to do to bring her stalker to justice. You don't owe me anything."

"Mercy, you were chased out of this state for something that wasn't your fault, you were kidnapped and maltreated…we owe so, so, _so_ much to you. We want to try and be your parents, we want you to be loved by a mother and father again," Peter said.

As hard as she tried, Mercy couldn't blink back the tears, "No…I can't have you guys do that. It's too much."

"It's alright Mercy, we want to."

"But I…I don't know if it'll work. I'm very touched by this, indeed I am, but I don't know if I could ever feel like I belonged because of all the things I had to go through these last couple of months," Mercy explained, hating herself for saying that.

"We understand that it would be difficult to adjust to at first, but we want to help you so badly Mercy, we feel so much gratitude and guilt. You were able to bring our daughter's killer to justice, even though you were terribly, terribly victimized by him," Daphne exclaimed.

"Think about it Mercy. We don't need a decision right now. Please, just promise us you'll sleep on it," Peter added.

Mercy nodded her head, "I will."

"Thank you," Peter said nodding, "Dr. Brown informed us that you may be released tomorrow morning. It's good to know that you're feeling better."

Mercy smiled, "Yeah, I'm glad to be feeling like my normal self again."

Mrs. Meyers nodded, "Well, we'll get going and let you get some rest. We just wanted to see how you were doing and let you in on our standpoint."

"Thank you," Mercy said. She bade them both goodbye and waited for Megatron to come back into the room.

* * *

Megatron became bored the instant he had left Mercy's room and closed the door behind him. He didn't want to stand in the hallway gazing about the various rooms where other disgusting patients were being treated. Instead, for the first time in a couple of days, he headed out of the hospital to check on his vehicle form to make sure it was still in one piece. He was pretty certain that it was, but he could never be too careful.

Once in the lobby, he went to the automatic doors where he walked out of the hospital and into the parking lot. He noticed reporters in the parking lot, obviously trying to get whatever news they could on his beloved. Megatron growled. He hated the paparazzi, especially the human paparazzi. They were never good for anything except causing problems and starting unnecessary rumors.

When he made it to his vehicle form, he saw that it was fine. That didn't stop him from inspecting it down to the last detail though. There wasn't even a scratch on it, so it was alright. He turned to go back into the hospital but almost crashed head on into one of the unnerving reporters.

"Oh, pardon me," the reporter spoke, "Were you headed back inside the hospital?"

"Yes," Megatron replied with a slight hiss.

"Have you seen Mercy LeCroix at all?"

Megatron frowned, "I have…but—

"May I have your name? And how did you see her? What did she look like?"

Out of the corner of his eye Megatron saw more reporters starting to make their ways towards him. "All of that is classified information," the Decepticon leader retorted and turned to walk away when he almost ran face first into another reporter.

"What is your relation to her? Are you a friend, brother, cousin…boyfriend?"

Megatron growled and turned to the mob of reporters that was gathered around, "Alright, I'll answer two questions, but that's it."

"What's your name?" called one reporter.

"Thor Collins."

"Are you Mercy's boyfriend?" asked another.

"…Yes." And with that, he turned on heel and went back inside the hospital, leaving the reporters in the dirty parking lot. As Megatron walked back to Mercy's room, he figured that he shouldn't have said anything about his relationship with Mercy to the reporters, but it wouldn't matter anyway. He and Mercy were leaving tomorrow, as soon as they got the chance.

He passed Brenna's parents in the hallway, they nodded to him and he reluctantly nodded back. The Decepticon leader despised acknowledging humans, but this was only temporary. He would be going back to Cybertron so soon. After he walked past Brenna's parents, Megatron rounded a corner and went straight to Mercy's room. He opened the door, walked in, and closed the door behind him.

Mercy looked over at him, "Where've you been?"

"I went to go see if my vehicle form was still functioning properly," he responded as he walked back over to the chairs, "What did Brenna's parents want?"

"They were just making sure I was alright."

"Did they say anything about the adoption?"

"Yeah…they wanted to justify their actions. I already like them a lot better than my biological parents and I hardly even know these guys."

"You're not going with them are you?"

"No, I already said I'm going with you…" she trailed off and then asked, "Are we…eloping kind of?"

"Eloping?"

Her cheeks flushed slightly, "Well uh…never mind."

"Tell me Mercy."

"Well…um, I was just going to ask if we were to get uh…married if I would have to change my name."

"Change your name?"

"It's part of the custom here on Earth. When a woman gets married, she has the option to take the same name as her husband."

"What do you mean?"

"Okay well, you're Thor Collins…supposedly anyways. If I were to marry you, I could change my last name, LeCroix, to Collins."

"I see," he remarked rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "That's an interesting concept, but I don't think it would work in our case…if you were getting married to Optimus Prime then it might since he has two names, but I don't." And then he hated himself for mentioning her getting married to Optimus.

"I don't plan on marrying him," Mercy replied.

"Wise answer."

After a brief period of silence, Mercy sighed suddenly and hugged her knees to her chest. Megatron looked her over for a moment before he asked, "Something wrong?"

"This is all too much…" she confessed, tears shimmering in her eyes.

A stab of panic went through his heart, "What is?"

"This whole thing with my parents and Brenna's parents," she said. Even though she had talked about marriage, this whole ordeal had not left her mind.

Megatron sighed relieved, "Don't worry about it."

She squeezed her eyes closed, "I don't want to go through this…I've been through enough already."

The Decepticon leader got up, lifted her in his arms, and then sat back down in the chair with her on his lap. "Calm down," he breathed, holding her tightly against him, "I'm taking you away from all of this."

Mercy rested her head against his shoulder and found herself looking down over his torso. She could see his muscles through his charcoal shirt; she knew he was so strong. The girl placed a hand on his chest directly over his heart…she could feel it beating and pulsing beneath her palm. Mercy wrapped an arm around the small of his back, even though it was a little difficult to wedge her arm between him and the back of the chair, but she managed to. Then slowly, with her other hand, she traced it down his torso until she reached his waistline. The girl hesitated a moment before she slid her hand under his thin shirt. His muscles immediately tensed under her touch, but they soon relaxed. Mercy teased her hand over his abdomen, counting his abs as she slowly moved her hand upwards. His shirt went upwards as her hand went up.

And his abdomen was flawless. It was warm, soft, muscular, hairless, smooth, and as she slid her hand up the rest of his torso to his pectoral muscles, she realized his whole midsection was like that. When her hand reached his chest, Megatron's shirt was exposing his abdomen and Mercy gazed briefly at his handsome abs. Megatron reached down and pulled his shirt over her arm, as if trying to trap her hand inside. She felt the Decepticon insignia branded valiantly on his chest over his heart, and she traced it with her fingers. Then slowly, using her index finger, she drew an invisible heart directly over his heart and breathed in his ear, "I love you."

Megatron tilted her face to his and kissed her forcefully. Mercy went to remove her hand from underneath the Decepticon leader's shirt, but he grasped her hand tightly, preventing her from moving it anywhere. She could feel his heart pounding and fluttering in his chest from both the excitement of the kiss and from her touch, and when the kiss was through, she didn't remove her hand until his heart had calmed down to its normal rhythm.

Slowly, she slid her hand out from underneath his shirt and down to his thigh. She never had really touched his legs before, so, in a bit of a teasing manner, she glided her hand across his thigh. The crotch of his black jeans bulged suddenly and Mercy's eyes widened as she quickly removed her hand from his thigh.

"Mercy," he growled, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to fight away his arousal. Saying her name didn't help his cause any though.

"Sorry," she whispered, still surprised by what her small touch had done. It was both flattering and humiliating.

Her smell, her taste that still lingered on his lips, the heat radiating off her body, her touch, her voice…all were making his senses go crazy and making his arousal even worse. "Mercy you need to get up."

Quickly, the girl got up from his lap and went back over to the bed where she sat and watched him for a minute, his eyes closed, his jaw fixed. She peeled her eyes away from him and turned her back to him, she felt the need to give him privacy and she felt rude staring at him. After a few minutes, he came up from behind and wrapped his arms her. Megatron kissed the top of her head and was about to say something when Mercy spoke first. "Sorry about that," she said.

"Don't worry about it," he breathed.

"If you've wanted me…like that…why haven't you said anything?"

"You're not ready and don't you dare tell me that you are."

She smiled, feeling relieved that he understood that. But then he warned her, "I may get lost in the moment though. It's up to you to tell me if I'm going too far."

"That's fair enough. I just know where not to touch you now."

He smiled, "Get some rest Mercy, that way I can take you home tomorrow." And he settled her onto the bed, giving her a quick kiss before going back over to the chair.

Mercy closed her eyes smiling. _"Home…"_ she thought, _"I can't wait to go home."_

Yeah the ending to this chapter kind of sucks, but I needed to end it...until the next chapter, please review! Thankies.

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	28. Red at Night

Okay, I know I said in the last chapter that there was going to be two more chapters...however this is the last one. I just can't extend this story out any further. Make sure you read the author's note at the end. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: Red at Night**

It was like her rights had been given back. She hadn't lost her first amendment or anything, just her right to go home, but now that was being given back. Mercy was going home, not to her parents' home, not to Brenna's parents' home, but to _his_ home, to her new home. It was where she had wanted to go for so long now; she didn't have any second thoughts. She was ready to be taken away from Earth, from her problems, and she was willing for the new.

It was a revelation to wake up and still be healthy. Her fever was still gone, her sickness was still gone, and at ten o'clock she was being discharged from the hospital into Megatron's arms and world. Currently it was 9:30am and Mercy was in the hospital lobby signing some release forms while Megatron stood beside her, patiently waiting.

As patient as he was though, Megatron was eager, and Mercy knew it. She could tell by the way his fingers were stroking her back, she could tell by the way he leaned against her. He was ready to leave, he was itching to leave, and she knew he hated it here. She was grateful for the hospital's services—considering she hated the hospital in her hometown—and still wanted to give them the money, but she would rather make Megatron happy. She wasn't happy unless he was happy. Megatron didn't want her to give the money to the hospital, so she wouldn't. She wasn't giving her parents the money; never would they even see it. She wasn't going to give Brenna's parents the money; she knew they wouldn't accept it. She wasn't going to keep it because she didn't have any use for it, and she wasn't going to let the court take it back. No, she was going to take Megatron's original advice as what to do with the $75,000.

She was going to burn it.

Nobody deserved money, it only led to chaos, it only ended up in greedy hands, and it was never used for one sole purpose. She was going to destroy it and do mankind a favor.

At about quarter to ten, Mercy's parents walked into the hospital and she felt Megatron's growl vibrate in his chest. She glanced at them before turning away from the receptionist's desk and looking at them. They threw sloppy smiles on their face and her mother asked, "You ready to go dear?"

"How did you know I was leaving?" she asked them rather bitterly.

"The hospital notified us Mercy, we didn't know how else you would get home."

Mercy sighed heavily and was just about to say something when she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye and saw Brenna's parents walking into the hospital. She groaned softly and said just so Megatron could hear, "This is going to be hell."

She could see the anger in Megatron's pale blue eyes and she knew deep inside his heart was burning with loathing hatred for the situation they were currently in. His jaw was clenched and he had a hand clasped around Mercy's.

His plans were being foiled right before his eyes.

Brenna's parents walked into the hospital and warily glanced over at Mercy's biological parents. Mercy's eyes were filled with fire as she glared back at the receptionist, "Don't tell me you notified them too."

The receptionist didn't say anything. Mercy sighed and looked back to the four adults just as Mercy's father asked, "What you doing here?"

Peter replied, "We were going to give Mercy a ride home."

"You two aren't here parents," Mrs. LeCroix scoffed.

"We're more parent-like than you," Daphne retorted.

"Enough," Megatron spoke suddenly, "I'll drive her home, if any of you have a problem with that, you can ask Mercy who she would prefer to go with."

Mercy smiled as that settled everything. She watched as the two sets of parents glanced at each other before they walked out of the hospital and back to their respective cars. Both Megatron and Mercy watched as the paparazzi swarmed on them as they walked back out. Megatron sighed heavily as he glanced at the clock, "Come on, it's ten, let's get out of here."

The girl didn't even bother to glance back at the receptionist as the Decepticon leader wrapped an arm tightly around her and walked with her out of the hospital. Immediately the paparazzi was all over them. The reporters tried to shove their microphones down the Decepticon couple's throats, but Megatron was doing a good job at batting them away. Mercy kept her eyes on the ground and let the Decepticon leader guide her over to his vehicle form where the butterfly door opened and Mercy took a seat a seat in the back. Megatron got in the front and closed the butterfly door. He then made the movements so that it looked like he was turning the car on, but he could start the car without any key. He revved his engine loudly a couple times, startling the reporters that were hanging around the outside of the car. When they moved away, Megatron pulled forward and drove out of the parking lot onto the main road.

Suddenly Mercy felt the seat she was in shift and the next thing she knew was that she was sitting in the front beside Megatron's holoform. "Oh…" she remarked when her CPU grasped what had happened, "I didn't know you could do that."

He smirked, "You should know I'd do anything for you Mercy."

She leaned against him feeling so complete. He glanced down at her before asking softly, "Are you ready to go?"

"To Cybertron?"

"Yes."

Before Mercy could reply, a car suddenly passed beside them and pulled in front of them. Fire burned in Mercy's eyes once again when she recognized her parents inside the car. Megatron glared into the rear view mirror only to see that Brenna's parents were following directly behind them.

"Son of a glitch," Megatron murmured under his breath, "Mercy, would you be angry if we left right now, in front of them?"

She sighed heavily as she kept staring out the window, "Just…keep driving."

He did knowing that she was upset and probably trying to keep herself from self-combusting. He had never seen her self-combust, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to see her that angry or not. She wasn't leaning against him anymore; she had sat up when her parents pulled in front of them. He hid a smirk from her as he held onto the steering wheel to make it look like he was driving.

Mercy was a little surprised when her seat started vibrating, she realized it was a massage mechanism that Megatron was employing and it felt good. She relaxed into it as the seatbelt tightened around her, almost simulating the Decepticon leader's arms. She stole a glance at him; he wasn't even looking at her. This time she hid a smirk from him as she began to lightly stroke some of the patterns on his leather seats.

She watched out of the corner of her eye as his holoform immediately stiffened and his engine suddenly made a purring sound. She traced the letter "I," followed by a heart and then the word "you."

His engine revved loudly causing the girl to laugh and Megatron to smile slightly. Mercy didn't laugh often; it was only the second time he had ever heard her laugh. It was music to his ears.

"Starscream to Megatron."

Megatron was a bit surprised when he heard his second in command's voice suddenly speak through his radio. He glanced over at Mercy who was looking at the radio as well, a surprised look on her face also.

"What is it Starscream?" Megatron replied. He really hoped Starscream had heard him so that he wouldn't have to find a place to hide and transform so he could talk.

"I've located Optimus and his men. He is returning with the Atlantis, Ogygia, Hyperborea, and the Lemuria Starships. They are about three days away."

"Alright, I'll be back sometime within the next twelve hours. What is the status of my men?"

"Restless sir and Thunderblast will be insulted to know you called her a man again."

Megatron chuckled, "She should know by now that I hate her."

There was silence for a moment before Starscream asked, "Did you find that girl sir?"

"I did," replied the Decepticon leader, "I'll see you on Cybertron, Starscream. Megatron out." And he ended the transmission.

Mercy glanced at him, "Who was that?"

"Starscream," Megatron answered, "He's my second in command. I left him in charge when I came back here to get you. He's a traitor, or he used to be, I can never tell with him. He's defied my command more than once, he's tried to kill me and he's betrayed me severely. And all he wants is my power."

"Why do you keep him around then?"

"Unfortunately, I need him. He's a valuable warrior who's skills I need right now, I think if I appease him enough he'll stay with me until I conquer Cybertron. He's been warned if he tries anything treacherous."

"Who's Thunderblast then?"

Megatron scowled, "An insult to the Decepticons. She's an ancient Decepticon, and she was imprisoned on Earth by Evac and Crosswise for a really long time before Starscream freed her and the rest of the ancient Decepticons. She's the definition of a whore. She's a decent warrior, but despicable."

"I take it she comes onto you a lot."

"All the time, she likes bad mechs with power, and I just so happen to be her definition of that."

Mercy growled, "I'll kill her."

"Or she'll kill you. She's going to hate you Mercy, so I want you to stay away from her. If she ever comes near you, I'll let her have it."

Mercy sighed heavily, "It'd be nice if I were a transformer, I could show her whose boss."

"You're not going to be a transformer."

"Why not?"

"My men like femmes; I'm not going to risk any potential harm that they may bring you. At least when you're in this form I can generally keep you with me at all times and I can hide you easier."

"Aren't they going to look down at you for falling in love with a former human?"

"They will but I can care less. You're irreplaceable to me, something that all of my warriors are not and never will be."

Mercy smiled when she heard that and she leaned against him again. Megatron let a satisfied sigh pass his lips as he followed the LeCroix's back to their household. When they got back to the town, Brenna's parents went back to their home and didn't follow Mercy or her parents to their house.

Megatron parked in the driveway behind Mercy's parents' vehicle. He glanced at her before asking, "Now what?"

She swallowed, "I guess we should go in."

"Why? Can't we just leave?"

"I don't want them to get the money Megatron, the court has probably mailed it to my by now."

Megatron sighed heavily, "Alright, I'll go with you."

He opened his door and the two of them got out. Mercy took his hand and went over to the mailbox and opened it only to find it empty. She guessed her parents had already been back to the house in her absence and so she went with Megatron into the house. Once inside, her parents practically shoved an envelope in her face.

"Open it," her father said eagerly before Mercy even got the chance to read who it was from.

Mercy took the envelope and looked at the return address, it was from the court, and she automatically knew what it was. Glancing up she said, "I'll open it in my room."

Megatron started to follow her when he caught an icy glare from Mercy's father. The father then asked in a threatening tone, "Just where do you think you're going?"

Mercy shot the glare back, "Thor is coming with me."

"This is our house Mercy, we make the rules," spoke her mother.

"You haven't been here for two years to reinforce any rules," she snapped back, "Why should I listen now?"

Her parents didn't say anything and Mercy continued to her room with Megatron. Once inside, Megatron shut the door and locked it. He then looked to Mercy and said, "Be careful what you say, they're probably listening through the door."

Mercy nodded and sat down on the small sofa she had in her room. Megatron sat down beside her and wrapped an arm around her as she opened up the envelope and took out a check for $75,000. She sighed and lit it on fire without any hesitation. All that was left were ashes in her hand.

Megatron smirked, "That takes care of that. Shall we go now?"

Mercy looked to him, "Yes, my business here on Earth is done now."

He grinned. The wait was over, he could finally take her home, he could show her his world, everything that he knew. He could take over Cybertron with her and forever would they rule it. If anyone tried to harm her though, he would rip them to pieces. She was his and forever would she be his.

The Decepticon leader followed her out of the room and back down the hallway. Her parents were sitting in the living room and her mother looked up to Mercy as she and Megatron headed for the door. "Where are you two going?" she asked, "And what was in the envelope?"

Mercy looked to her mother, "Thor and I are leaving, and a check for $75,000 was in the envelope."

"Well hand it here," said her father, "Your mother and I will take it to the bank and cash it for you."

"It doesn't take two people to cash a check," Mercy replied sourly, "I figured you were back because you just wanted the money the court gave me. You're not going to have it; you're not even going to see it."

Her mother seemed to disregard what Mercy had just said as she questioned, "Mercy, where's the money?"

She scowled and threw the ashes she still had in her hand at her mother. "There it is mom," she exclaimed hurt. Mercy knew for sure now that her parents cared about money, not her. She had no value to them, "You stupid jerk."

Her mother stared at the ashes for a moment before she rose to her feet and shouted, "Mercy, go to your room and don't you dare come down here until I say so. Thor, you get out of my house and don't you ever come back." She shoved Megatron away from Mercy and grabbed the girl by the arm forcefully. Mercy's father stood slowly.

"You stupid girl," her mother breathed, a tear in her voice, "Why'd you dye your hair such a hideous color? Why didn't you get out of the house instead and get some sun, your skin is so white. And what the hell did you do to your eyes?" She yanked Mercy's hair suddenly causing the girl to yelp, "You stupid girl."

"Megatron," Mercy whimpered causing her mother to get a confused expression on her face.

"That's it!" Megatron shouted suddenly, startling Mercy's mother. He went to Mercy and took her back from her mother, "I'm taking her now and we're leaving and we're not coming back ever again."

"We'll call the police," her father threatened.

"I don't care, you can call who you want, you're never going to find us."

"Who's Megatron?" Mrs. LeCroix questioned quietly.

"I'm Megatron," replied the Decepticon leader as he deactivated his holoform and his true form took its place.

Both of her parents took startled steps back. Megatron chuckled at their reactions and Mercy's father was able to usher the words, "What are you?"

"If you were really worth my time, I might tell you, but you're not. Just know that your daughter is safe now, if you really care. You're never going to see her again." Megatron then opened a dimension gate and Mercy, without even glancing behind her, stepped through the gate followed by Megatron.

They ended up in a grassy field somewhere that Mercy didn't recognize. Wherever they were, the sun was setting over the horizon, the stars were just beginning to come out, and Megatron was holding her tightly in his arms. "This isn't Cybertron," she breathed as she gazed up into his optics, the twinkling stars were reflected in them.

"I know its not, I have to do one last thing first, before we go," he explained.

"What's that?" she asked.

Megatron sighed heavily. Love had become his madness. He couldn't get rid of it now, even if he tried, but he didn't have the will to try. It had taken him a while, but he accepted the fact that he was in love, that he would always be in love with Mercy, and that she was his. She would be his madness, his obsession, his one and only.

"Mercy," he asked, the words heavy on his tongue, "Will you be my spark mate?"

"Spark mate?"

"It's equivalent to being my wife," he said.

Her eyes widened a bit before her expression relaxed and she smiled, "Yes, I will be your spark mate."

"Then are you so willing," Megatron pressed as he stared off into the galaxy of stars in Mercy's eyes, "To forget your world and the life you once knew and come away with me, to start a new life? To forget and leave behind all those terrible and wonderful memories, those people who have both helped and hurt you, to pursue a life of catastrophic evil with goals of universal domination, for me? Are you, Mercy, willing to be mine and be one with me forever, no matter what fate has in store for us?"

"I am."

He produced the bracelets from his subspace pocket. "I know in the human custom of marriage you exchange rings. Cybertronians, however, exchange these bracelets. Once you put them on, they never come off unless your mate takes it off, you lose it in battle, or you lose your arm. Do you accept this bracelet Mercy?"

"I do."

He took her left hand and fastened the bracelet securely around her wrist. The amethyst and black diamonds sparkled radiantly in the setting sun. Mercy then repeated the process and fastened the platinum bracelet around Megatron's left wrist.

"I love you," she breathed, a joyous smile on her face.

"I love you too Mercy," he replied as he captured her lips with his.

When their passionate moment was through, Megatron then took her hand and opened a dimension gate. "Are you ready to go?" he asked.

"I've been ready," she answered confidently.

"Let's make this universe ours," he said as he stepped through the dimension gate with her.

The sun was almost completely set once the dimension gate closed. The sky was filling with stars now as night began to take over the Earth. It was quiet and peaceful.

The sky was bleeding red.

* * *

Like in the first chapter, I decided to bring back that whole "red at night sailor's delight, red in the morning sailor's take warning" saying. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and story, it's taken a while to write it, so I apologize all the waiting that's come with this over the last two years almost. Well, I guess it's my turn to reveal whether or not there's going to be a sequel, and the answer is yes, there will be one. It'll be called _Breaking from Misery_ and right now I'm still debating what to rate it. It'll probably start out as a T. Anyways, I left too many loose ends in this story to just completely end it right here.

So will Megatron conquer the universe? Will he be able to keep Mercy safe? How is Mercy going to handle Cybertron? Well, you'll find out as soon as I get the sequel going, I got to finish other stories first though before I start anything new. I'm swamped. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed this story right a long, it meant a ton to me because there were times in this fic where I lost all faith. Thank you once again and uh...please review one last time! Until the sequel!


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